People's Democracy

AS we go to press, we learn that a wide terror has been unleashed against the CPI(M) by the Trinamulis and the so called Maoists. CPI(M) workers killed include Comrades Gopal Mondol in Murshidabad, Sohrab Dewan at Burdwan, Durga Deshawali and Santosh Mahato at Midnapore West. Earlier two people died in an explosion by suspected KLO miscreants at Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri. All incidents took place during the day of March 18, 2009.

Earlier on March 17 a gang of Trinamuli and Congress hoodlums killed a CPI(M) fisherman. They took advantage of the unarmed status of the thin-bodies fishing folk. They were bent on taking control over the local ponds. These ponds were the only source of livelihood for the dozens of families of impoverished villagers � all CPI(M) sympathisers for long � at the village called Patiram.

The attackers launched a murderous attack on the fishing folk who put up a resistance of sorts -- but when bare hands try to confront heavily armed professional goons, the results are far foregone. Comrade Ansar Ali, who retreated before the fierceness of the attack was chased down, pulled out from his shanty and his head cleaved apart with a large sickle. Sharp weapons were used on Comrades Luxman Rai, Moti-ud din Mian, and Rezzak Ali � all in their mid-twenties. They are battling for life at various North Bengal hospitals.

The water bodies, however, could not be taken over. Cowards flee at the end of the day when they find people standing tall in defence of their livelihood.

ANOTHER BODY

FOUND AT NANDIGRAM

The putrefied body of Comrade Himadri Patra, a staunch CPI(M) supporter, abducted by the Trinamuli-Maoist combination some days back at Khejuri 2, was found early in the morning of March 17. His remains, it was clear that he had been tortured to a very painful end, were found half-buried at a char land at a lonely and remote place called Nichaksaba. A long procession of villagers took to the fields to protest rousingly against the murder.

We were told that another CPI(M) worker and a branch secretary, Sheikh Hatem Ali recently managed to escape the confines within which the Trinamuli-Maoists had put him in and had tortured in captivity, for all of a week. District committee member of Midnapore east unit of the CPI(M) Himangsu Das has said that an ambience of terror was being built up, slowly yet planfully, by the mahajot as the Lok Sabha elections approached, with help from the �Maoists� in the area. Popular resistance too was growing bigger and stouter led by the CPI(M) and the Left Front constituent parties.

(B P)