As per IB report, many connecting roads to the village have been damaged once again after their entryKOLKATA: West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s appeal to the people of Nandigram on Tuesday to keep distance from Maoists was surely not just a political appeal.
Rather it was backed by a caution from the intelligence branch (IB) of the state police that some dreaded guerrillas had re-entered the region to resurrect the reign of terror and bloodshed that was Nandigram’s feature in the entire 2007.
As per a recent report submitted by the IB to the home department, a team of around eight most-wanted Maoist guerrillas has entered Nandigram in the last seven days. The team is led by a heavyweight state committee leader of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), West Bengal, known as Narayan in guerrilla circles.
Narayan, who is wanted both by West Bengal and Jharkhand for his involvement in various insurgency activities, is slated to be the next acting state secretary of the CPI(Maoist).
In West Bengal, after the CID arrested last week incumbent state secretary Himadri Sen Roy alias Somen from a suburban railway station in North 24 Parganas district.
As per the IB report, many connecting roads to Nandigram have been damaged once again after the entry of this gang. The damage is exactly the same as last year to prevent the security forces from entering Nandigram. The IB report adds that the gang’s entry was followed by fresh incidence of violence on the eve of the chief minister’s visit to Nandigram.
Raj Kanojia, IG (law & order), said the police were aware of the presence of the Maoists in Nandigram and their tries to organise locals. He, however, denied having any specific information on whether the insurgents have already become active.
Claiming that Somen’s arrest was a major success, Kanojia said it would vital leads and help curb the Maoist movement in the state. Meanwhile, a senior IB officer told DNA that following last year’s failure in holding ground in Nandigram, the Maoist guerrillas had understandably become more cautious this time.
“As per our findings, while they are organising training camps in Jharkhand, they are using the state’s borders with Orissa to enter West Bengal,” he said.
The IB has also secured information that Narayan has two motives behind organising locals in Nandigram. First, he wants to strengthen his own position in the party and secondly, the Maoists are looking for an ideal platform to protest Somen’s arrest and use it to spread maximum propaganda.
r_sumanta@dnaindia.net
