Midnapore (WB): Arrested Maoist-backed
tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato has been charged with
sedition and booked under various sections of the Unlawful
Activities Prevention Act for raising funds for a terrorist
outfit and attempting to murder police personnel.
Mahato, who has been spearheading an agitation since
November last against alleged police excesses in West
Midnapore`s troubled Lalgarh area, was arrested on Saturday
and remanded to police custody till October 1.
West Midnapore District Magistrate N S Nigam said Mahato
was yesterday booked under sections 16/B, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39
and 40 of the UAPA, which was amended in the wake of the
Mumbai terror attacks, for raising funds for a terrorist
outfit, attempting to murder police personnel and conspiring
against the state.
He has also been charged under sections 120-B, 121, 121-A
and 307 of the IPC for sedition, specific cases of arson,
waging war against the state, demolition of the Ramgarh police
outpost and attempts to murder, Nigam said.
Mahato, chief of the People`s Committee Against Police
Atrocities (PCAPA), was arrested at Pirka near Lalgarh when he
was giving an interview to a reporter, who was trailed by
policemen posing as TV journalists.
The PCAPA has, meanwhile, withdrawn the call for its
proposed two-day `Bengal bandh` which was scheduled to start
on September 30. Instead, it began an indefinite bandh
yesterday in protest against the arrest in the Maoist-
influenced tribal areas of the West Midnapore district,
including Lalgarh, Belpahari, Jamboni, Salboni and Binpur
which are collectively called Jangalmahal.
Bureau Report
