Nandigram (WB), June 11: The turf war between supporters of ruling CPI-M and opposition Trinamool Congress continued in and around Khejuri near here for the fourth day on Thursday as offices of the Left party were allegedly ransacked and set ablaze at several places, police said.
Tension had been brewing in Khejuri, a known CPI-M
stronghold under Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency in East
Midnapore district, with police recovering a large cache of
arms and ammunition over the last few days from villages in
the neighbourhood.
Police said CPI-M offices at Kamarda, Battala,
Kanchannagar and a few other places were ransacked and set on
fire this morning. Patrolling had been intensified in the area
as tension prevailed, they said.
Three guns and around 100 bullets were seized from
Kamarda village near Khejuri Block Office following which
three CPI(M) supporters were arrested yesterday.
Arms including seven pipeguns, 125 bullets and bombs
were recovered by the police earlier from the area.
Local CPI-M leader Ashok Guria alleged that Trinamool
activists had forcibly taken control of Khejuri block and were
"forcing them to side with them.
"Many people have been rendered homeless for refusing
to toe their line," he claimed.
More than 40 families had taken shelter in camps and
fled to their relatives in nearby villages due to the violence
that erupted two days ago, police said.
The house of a CPI-M Panchayat Samiti office-bearer
and another party leader had been damaged in Khejuri today,
Guria said.
Trinamool leaders contended that the CPI-M activists
had targeted their own offices after not getting shelter
there. Some CPI-M leaders had taken shelter in the local
police stations, they said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, June 11, 2009, 17:25