Kolkata: Maoists shot dead two members of
People`s Committee Against Police Atrocities backed by it
in West Midnapore district and kidnapped an Intelligence
Branch Inspector and a NGO worker from Purulia district in
West Bengal, police said.
The bodies of PCPA members Biswanath Mahato and Pradip
Mahato were found beside a pond at Nandalalpur in Jhargram,
Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation) Mukesh Kumar
said.
"According to initial investigations, they were killed
by Maoists," Kumar said.
Top district police sources said the two were killed
over differences with Maoists on division of money extorted
from local businessmen.
There were earlier instances of PCPA members being
killed by Maoists over such issues, the sources said.
In Purulia district, the Maoists kidnapped an
intelligence branch officer and a ngo worker from Ayodhya
area, with the police saying that he was on leave and had gone
there for work in connection with an ngo he ran there.
The IB inspector, Partha Biswas, and ngo worker
Samarjit Basu were kidnapped four kilometres west of Barabhum
at 11:58 pm last night by Maoists, Intelligence Branch sources
said.
"Biswas was not on duty and on leave when he went to
Purulia for a purely personal reason," Additional Director
General of Police, Banibrata Basu said.
"We have information that he runs a NGO there and went
to work for it," Basu said.
Director General of Police, Naparajita Mukherjee said,
"I have heard about the incident and Maoists have sent feelers
to the district police administration."
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Jadav said, "We are
not sure about the activities of these persons as they are not
part of the district police. They came from Kolkata and I was
informed by Kolkata."
Maoist sources said that the two were in their
custody, but did not state any condition for their release.
Biswas is a resident of Naihati in North 24 Parganas
district and Basu of Bandel in Hooghly district.
Atindranath Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Sankrail
police station in West Midnapore district was released
unharmed on November 4 last year after being kidnapped by
Maoists two days earlier.
On October 6 last year, Maoists had beheaded Jharkhand
police inspector Francis Induwar, who was abducted by them a
week earlier demanding release of three of their arrested
leaders, including Kobad Ghandy who was arrested in Delhi on
20 September 2009.
PTI
