People's Democracy

WEST BENGAL

Murderous Attack in Keshpur

ANOTHER brutal attack on CPI(M) activists in West Midnapore took place in Keshpur on September 27. Trinamool Congress hoodlums attacked CPI(M) Keshpur zonal committee office,  Jamshed Ali Bhaban and tried to kill the Party activists and homeless persons who took shelter there. The office was ransacked, partially burnt and the CPI(M) workers were beaten before police intervened to rescue them.

Like many places in West Midnapore, Keshpur witnessed severe attack and large scale violence after the assembly elections. Thousands of CPI(M) supporters have been rendered homeless and many were arrested in framed cases. All Party offices were forcibly closed and no normal political activity was allowed. Jamshed Ali Bhaban was the only office which was still open. Some of the homeless families stayed there. It was a target of attack for the last four months. The police and TMC activists conducted so-called “search operations” for three times in this particular office and never found any arms. The police was always compelled to give written seizure lists.

Meanwhile, internal feud in the TMC has intensified in Keshpur and surrounding areas. In a village called Panchami, a youth was killed during an armed conflict between the two groups of the TMC.

On 27th morning, the TMC activists gathered from different places and suddenly attacked the CPI(M) office. They started beating up workers there and ransacked the office. Looting and destroying furniture took place. The CPI(M) activists tried to resist for some time and then took shelter in a room and locked it to defend themselves. 46 people were there. The TMC activists tried to break open the doors. All these took place while the police from Keshpur police station stood as spectators. Union minister Mukul Roy began to instigate from Kolkata itself and it was he who spread canards through media. He even claimed that the CPI(M) workers have fired on the mob which was a complete lie. Finally the TMC activists prepared to burn the whole building and petrol was used. Meanwhile, Suryakanta Misra, opposition leader and other CPI(M) leaders desperately communicated with the ministers and higher-ups in the police administration. Finally, the police and the RAF moved in from other parts of the district and chased away the attackers. It was, in fact, in the nick of time that the Party activists were rescued and brought to local police station.

The nature of the conspiracy was exposed when five of the rescued CPI(M) activists were arrested by police and none of the attackers were even touched.

In another related incident, an allegation has surfaced that it was the police who supplied arms to the TMC activists in Keshpur.