After waiting in vain for three months hoping some reprieve will come their way from the TMC government, the Naxalites on Monday killed one person at Belpahari, near Jhargram in Junglemahal. According to the district police officials, the victim was a supporter of TMC and was active in local resistance committee against the Naxalites. This is the first instance where the TMC supporter was targeted by the Naxalites in Junglemahal.
According to police, the bullet riddled body of the victim was found on the main road at Belpahari and some posters bearing Naxalite slogans were also found there.
That the Naxalites are slowly but steadily turning their guns against the TMC is evident as the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), a front organization of the Naxalites has called a bandh on August 24 in Junglemahal to protest against the “TMC’s growing oppression in the area”. One of the senior police officials in Junglemahal, who does not want to be identified for obvious reason, has said that taking advantage of the joint force’s inactivity; the Naxalites are steadily regrouping themselves.
The Naxalites made their intent clear by issuing a statement on Monday. In this statement released from underground, the Naxalites put venom against the Mamata Banerjee led government and termed it as anti-people. They have made their frustration clear saying that the government rejected the proposal to release Chhatradhar Mahato, “the popular leader of people’s upsurge in Junglemahal”.
According to the Naxalites, state government’s emissaries who recently met Chhatradhar in Medinipur jail, asked him to either dissolve PCPA or disown it before he could be considered for release.
Also, the police is repeatedly ransacking Chhatradhar’s house on the plea that the wife of Sudip Chongdar (state secretary of the Naxalites) is hiding there.
But the Naxalites claimed that for the last eight months she has been detained in police lines in Medinipur and subjected to repeated tortures.