Three shot dead by Maoists ahead of Buddhadeb's visit

Barely a few hours before Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's visit to Midnapore, suspected Maoists gunned down three members of the CPI(M)-affiliated Gana Pratirodh Committee at Kushboni forest under Binpur police station area today.

Superintendent of Police, West Midnapore, M K Varma said Manoranjan Mandi, Joyram Murmu and Laxmi Das, all members of the Gana Pratirodh Committee, formed by the CPI(M) to resist the Maoists, were forcibly taken away from their houses to a nearby forest where their hands were tied up and a number of bullets pumped in their bodies. They died on the spot.

SDO Jhargram P Ulaganathan said the trio belonged to the Jharkhand Jana Mukti Morcha and later joined the Gana Pratirodh Committee and led movements against Maoists.

A Maoist poster was found near their bodies in the forest near Dahijuri, in which the ultras alleged that the deceased used to extract money forcibly from the local people.

Jhargram police brought their bodies to the nearby Binpur police station where from they would be sent to Jhargram hospital for post-mortem, the SDO said.

Meanwhile, the PCPA organised road blockades in different areas of the Jungle Mahal since this morning, demanding immediate withdrawal of the combined security forces.

Asit Mahato, convener of the PCPA, said processions with students of different schools would soon start in Muraboni and Ranarani villages in Jhargram to protest the occupation of their school buildings by combined forces since long. The road between Midnapore and Dherua to Lalgarh had also been dug up at various places by PCPA activists this morning.

Unprecedented situation arrangements were made in Midnapore Town as all roads and lanes in the town were being guarded by armed police ahead of the Chief Minister's meeting to review the law and order situation and monitor the development activities.

Combined forces were deployed on both sides of National Highway six since yesterday.

-- (UNI) -- 07CA3.xml

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