Nandigram tense after leader's killing

Tension gripped Nandigram in East Midnapore district of West Bengal after a brief respite following the killing of a leader spearheading the agitation against acquisition of land for a special economic zone (SEZ) of the Salim group.

The Trinamool Congress claimed that the leader, Arup Das, was a prominent representative of the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) that is affiliated to it.

Das was attacked with sharp weapons on Tuesday night and died on the spot. He was returning home after a meeting of the Trinamool Congress and the Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee, Superintendent of Police Ashok Dutta said.

The BUPC has called a 12-hour shutdown at Nandigram to protest against the killing. Violence against land acquisition for the SEZ has so far claimed eight lives.

Alarmed by the spiralling violence, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had on January 11 asked the district authorities to "tear up" the land acquisition notification of the Haldia Development Authority (HDA) that had led to a violent backlash from Nandigram villagers.

Meanwhile, 23 village panchayat members of Singur today left for a Tata-conducted tour of Tatanagar in Jamshedpur. Apart from visiting the factory in Jamshedpur, they will interact with the local people to familiarise them with the company's social initiatives.

The district police has beefed up security at the Tata Motors' small car plant site in Singur after company executives and officials of the state industrial corporation were gheraoed on Monday.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee was today released from a nursing home where she was being treated since December 28 after ending a 25-day fast to protest against the acquisition of farm land at Singur.