Skeletons recovered again

29 August 2011

statesman news service
MIDNAPORE, 29 AUG: In a fresh discovery, bones and three human skeletons were dug up from an area in Goaltore, West  Midnapore, a day after one was unearthed at Kundrisole forest in the same area.
Local Trinamul Congress workers claimed that the recovered skeletons could be those of their supporters who were abducted in March 2010 by armed CPI-M  cadres. The CPI-M cadres had kidnapped many Trinamul workers when they had unleashed a reign of terror at several nearby villages for putting up an “armed resistance” against Maoists, the Trinamul workers said.
One Sufia Bibi of Lalitpur identified a skeleton as that of her husband Soukat Khan after recognising the clothes unearthed along with the skeletons.
“My husband was an active Trinamul worker. In March, 2010, some armed CPI-M cadres kidnapped him on the suspicion that he was a Maoist and since then, he had been missing,” said Sufia. Police have taken the skeletons and bones to Midnapore for forensic tests and a DNA test.
Yesterday, local Trinamul supporters caught hold of three CPI-M activists ~ Lalu Rana, Kanai Goila and Samed Gayen ~ who provided them clues to the body of a missing Trinamul worker. After digging a pit, a human skull, bones and a torn shirt were found. Mr Bapi Karak, a resident of nearby Sundargeria village, claimed that the skeleton is that of his father Sudarshan who was allegedly abducted by armed CPI-M men from his house on 4 June, 2010. “I have identified the shirt as my father’s and even police found that it was made by a local tailor of Sundargeria whose tag was on the collar,” Bapi told  reporters.
Chandana, daughter of the deceased, alleged that last year police had refused to register any complaint when they went to the police station to lodge his father’s abduction case. Later, Bapi lodged an FIR with the Goaltore police station against 23 persons, all CPI-M men, including the Goaltore’s former CPI-M MLA Mr Krishna Duley and zilla parishad member Mr Tarasankar Biswas.
Meanwhile, a murder case has been initiated against Mrs Antara Bhattacharya, the CPI-M Zilla Parishad sabhadhipati in West  Midnapore, following the recovery of another human skeleton from a village at Narayangarh, the constituency of former CPI-M minister and leader of the opposition, Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra.
Ms Arati Das, a resident of Pingla, had earlier claimed that the skeleton was that of her husband Prabodh. She had also lodged a murder complaint naming Mrs Bhattacharya, three CPI-M district committee members Mr Anil Patra, Mr Sudhansu Bera and Mr Kalipada Mana, Zilla Parishad member-in-charge of PWD Mr Sisir Mahapatra and 31 other CPI-M workers.
The investigating police have already arrested two CPI-M men ~ Ratan Das and Subol Sheet ~ soon after the FIR was lodged. They were yesterday produced before the Midnapore court where the magistrate remanded them in police custody for five days. The recent recovery of skeletons is another  indication of political violence unleashed against Congress and Trinamul Congress activists by the CPI-M cadres, Mr OP Mishra, spokesman of the state unit of the Congress said today. These skeletons are a proof of the assault on assault on democracy and the Congress fully supports the pro-active role of the state government to unearth these crimes, he added.  
By Biswabrata Goswami

CPM leaders fear sabotage by Ghosh

23 August 2011

Activists of rival camp apprehend arrest
biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 23 AUG: Following the arrest of former paschimanchal unnayan affairs minister Mr Susanta Ghosh, local district CPI-M leaders, especially those who belong to Mr Ghosh's rival camp, are apprehending that they may be framed by the leader. CPI-M leaders of the Garbeta and Keshpur areas think that the former minister, who is now in jail custody, may drag in their names to save himself.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is reportedly preparing to arrest more CPI-M leaders in connection with the skeleton and arms recovery case. “While interrogating Mr Ghosh, we have got names of some other leaders who may be involved in the incident. The interrogation is still going on and we may make more arrests,” said Mr K Jayaraman, deputy inspector general (operation) of CID.
During interrogation, Mr Ghosh, who belongs to CPI-M district secretary and state secretariat member Mr Dipak Sarkar's lobby, has already pointed fingers at the party’s local leaders belonging to Mr Tarun Roy's lobby for stockpiling arms and ammunition to fight against the Maoists. He even admitted involvement of senior police officers in building armed resistance against Maoists, a CID official said.
“We are not sure whether Mr Ghosh has revealed our names before the CID. It is true that several armed camps were set up across Junglemahal to resist the Maoists, but all the planning was done in the presence of different district committee leaders. Local leaders merely followed the directives and implemented the planning," a CPI-M local committee leader, who is staying outside his village to escape arrest, said.
According to CID officers, investigation into the skeleton case is now in its final stage. They say the evidence is being summed up and a charge-sheet will soon be filed. On Monday, Biman Ghosh, another CPI-M leader and accused in the case, was produced before the Midnapore chief judicial magistrate's court. He was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
This apart, the CID officials hinted that it had got names of seven inter-state arms smugglers who are believed to have close links with Mr Ghosh.
The CID collected information about these people from Garbeta police station on Monday, sources said. The investigators hinted that Biman Ghosh, a distant relative of Mr Ghosh and a CPI-M leader of Piyashal village, has revealed some important information about the arm rackets. The investigating agency has reasons to believe that information revealed by him will help them trace key persons in the racket.
Accordingly, the CID officers on Monday pumped out water from the pond located on the premises of Garbeta police station, but found nothing from it. The CID had been tipped off that CPI-M men had dumped arms in the pond. They also dug up the area beside the pond in search of arms.

By Biswabrata Goswami

PCPA bandh brings life to a standstill

24 August 2011

statesman news service
MIDNAPORE, 24 AUG: Life in most parts of Junglemahal in West Midnapore was paralysed since morning today due to a 24-hour bandh called by the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), a frontal outfit of the CPI-Maoist. No untoward incident was reported from the area.
The bandh was held to protest “Trinamul Congress-sponsored alleged terror tactics” in Junglemahal as claimed by the PCPA. It was for the first time after the change of guard in Writer’s Buildings, the PCPA called a bandh in Junglemahal. The bandh kept Belpahari, Binpur, Lalgarh, Nayagram and Gopiballavpur areas completely paralysed with almost no traffic on the roads and attendance in state government offices being practically nil. Schools and colleges in the area were earlier notified to be closed. Shops and markets also kept their shutters down.
Unlike earlier occasions, no political party took out processions asking people not to observe the bandh. This was the first time that a bandh called against the Trinamul Congress by the pro-Maoist organisation had an impact on the entire Junglemahal area. The Maoists had put up posters and distributed leaflets in Odolchua, Bholabheda, Chakadoba and other parts of Belpahari, Lalgarh, Nayagram and Gopiballavpur asking people to observe the bandh, which virtually seemed to be a fresh challenge for the security forces and the Trinamul Congress in the entire region.
To make people feel their presence in Junglemahal, the Maoists killed a Trinamul Congress worker at Belpahari and burnt effigies of the Trinamul Congress chief Miss Mamata Banerjee two days ago when the Prime Minister Dr Manmohon Singh was attending the convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.
Yesterday, the Maoists fired several rounds in the air at Rajput village in Jhargram to terrorise the people. Later, the security forces reached there and brought the situation under control. Mr Dahareswar Sen, a CPI-M district committee leader, said: “When we were in power, the Maoists raised their guns against us. This time, they are threatening the Trinamul as the latter failed to keep their promise made before the Assembly poll”. Mr Dinen Roy, Trinamul’s district president, however, brushed aside the allegation and said: “Miss Banerjee will resolve the matter soon.”

CPM leaders fear sabotage by Ghosh

23 August 2011

Activists of rival camp apprehend arrest
biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 23 AUG: Following the arrest of former paschimanchal unnayan affairs minister Mr Susanta Ghosh, local district CPI-M leaders, especially those who belong to Mr Ghosh's rival camp, are apprehending that they may be framed by the leader. CPI-M leaders of the Garbeta and Keshpur areas think that the former minister, who is now in jail custody, may drag in their names to save himself.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is reportedly preparing to arrest more CPI-M leaders in connection with the skeleton and arms recovery case. “While interrogating Mr Ghosh, we have got names of some other leaders who may be involved in the incident. The interrogation is still going on and we may make more arrests,” said Mr K Jayaraman, deputy inspector general (operation) of CID.
During interrogation, Mr Ghosh, who belongs to CPI-M district secretary and state secretariat member Mr Dipak Sarkar's lobby, has already pointed fingers at the party’s local leaders belonging to Mr Tarun Roy's lobby for stockpiling arms and ammunition to fight against the Maoists. He even admitted involvement of senior police officers in building armed resistance against Maoists, a CID official said.
“We are not sure whether Mr Ghosh has revealed our names before the CID. It is true that several armed camps were set up across Junglemahal to resist the Maoists, but all the planning was done in the presence of different district committee leaders. Local leaders merely followed the directives and implemented the planning," a CPI-M local committee leader, who is staying outside his village to escape arrest, said.
According to CID officers, investigation into the skeleton case is now in its final stage. They say the evidence is being summed up and a charge-sheet will soon be filed. On Monday, Biman Ghosh, another CPI-M leader and accused in the case, was produced before the Midnapore chief judicial magistrate's court. He was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
This apart, the CID officials hinted that it had got names of seven inter-state arms smugglers who are believed to have close links with Mr Ghosh.
The CID collected information about these people from Garbeta police station on Monday, sources said. The investigators hinted that Biman Ghosh, a distant relative of Mr Ghosh and a CPI-M leader of Piyashal village, has revealed some important information about the arm rackets. The investigating agency has reasons to believe that information revealed by him will help them trace key persons in the racket.
Accordingly, the CID officers on Monday pumped out water from the pond located on the premises of Garbeta police station, but found nothing from it. The CID had been tipped off that CPI-M men had dumped arms in the pond. They also dug up the area beside the pond in search of arms.

Beware of eating dry fish!

4 July 2011

biswabrata goswami
JUNPUT (East Midnapore), 4 JULY: People should now be cautious before eating dry fish, considered a delicacy by many.
To preserve the product, dry fish traders in Digha, Junput, Bankiput and Bhogpur in East Midnapore ~ widely regarded as hubs of dry fish production ~ have begun using highly toxic pesticides and a preservative that have been found hazardous to human health.
To put an end to the menace, the state marine fisheries directorate has clamped a ban on any form of chemical for dry fish processing. Businessmen  who sell such chemicals to fish traders have also been brought under this ban. Test of samples of a particular class of preservative used in processing dry fish at various research laboratories in Bangladesh, Assam and Mizoram, that are the major buyers of dry fish, found substances of Formalin De-Hyde which is often used to preserve human body.
Apart from the use of Formalin De-Hyde, fish traders are using highly toxic pesticides and insecticides like Metacids, Cypermethrin, Endo-Sulphur, BHE-50 and Chlorophyriphos-50, said a fishery officer.
“We have come across reports of dry fish traders using pesticides and a preservative for durability of the product. As preservative chemicals are suspected to be toxic, prohibitory orders were issued recently on their use,” said Mr Surojit Bag, additional director of fisheries (Marine).
He said that notices have been served on various dry fish manufacturing units, marine fishermen’s bodies and trawler operator associations, besides fishermen cooperative societies. They have been asked to refrain from using preservatives, he said.
Mr Biplab Maity, a spokesman for the traders, defending the use of preservatives, argued that it was a common practice among fishing communities across the country and to the best of his knowledge it was not detrimental to human health. He said that they had stopped using only a particular brand.
“We are not aware of the use of toxic substances while manufacturing dry fish. However, if such a practice is prevailing, it should be stopped,” said a dry fish trader in Junput. According to fisheries officials, drug officials have been asked to take action on those who use toxic pesticides and preservatives.
“An awareness camp was recently organised at Junput where fish traders were asked not to use chemicals for preserving fish. The rampant use of toxic chemicals in fish may lead to cancer to anyone who eats dry fish on a regular basis,” said Mr Bag, adding fish traders, however, do not eat these fish out of fear.

Love bites: Male elephants clash over female in W Midnapore forest

25 July 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 25 JULY: A jungle love story played out in West Midnapore when two male jumbos clashed for several hours over a female elephant, a forest official said today. One of the male elephants was injured.
“Two male wild tuskers battled in Satbandhi forest in Garbeta for several hours on Sunday over a female elephant, and a 15-year-old elephant was injured,” a forest officer said.
Local residents, having spotted the tuskers fighting deep inside the forest between the Humgarh and Amlagora ranges, informed the local beat offices, which sent a team to track down the animals. Even though blood trails were found at several places, the two warring elephants were only finally tracked down this afternoon.
Mr Asish Kumar Samanta, divisional forest officer of Midnapore, said, “We are searching for the injured tusker but our men have not managed to locate him yet. We are also trying to locate the movement of the elephant group as the pachyderm that won the battle might also have suffered serious injuries and may be in need of urgent treatment”
“Although no forest official saw them fighting, the way the defeated elephant suffered injuries to his head, neck, and thigh confirms that it was a bloody fight between two male elephants over the right for "love play" with a female elephant,” a forest officer stated.
He said since last weekend, a herd of over 60 elephants has come down from the Dalma forest range of Jharkhand and entered the forest ranges of West Midnapore. There is a confirmed report that two dominant males in this group clashed over a female jumbo.
Wildlife and elephant experts in the district said that this is a common phenomenon during breeding season. Male elephants, in search of a female partner, fight each other. In the past few years, several elephant fights have occurred in this forest region.
Mr Rana Purohit, a wildlife expert, said, “Normally this type of clash occurs when a resident elephant falls in love with a female from the new group of elephants. The leader of the group never accepts the outsider, who engages in a fight with the resident to prove his domination.”
But, according to local residents, two male tuskers of the same group of elephants fought each other, damaging crops and property in the process. On Saturday night, about 10 elephants had parked themselves on NH-60, holding up traffic for a while. They then marched towards Garbeta College, damaged a part of its boundary wall, and smashed a hostel gate.
Forest officials and medical teams, equipped with tranquiliser guns, have intensified their search for the tuskers, fearing that they could pose a threat to nearby villages and passing vehicles.

Pollution hits Kolaghat hilsa

9 August 2011

biswabrata goswami
KOLAGHAT, 9 AUG: The city may have got their plates full with delicious hilsa this season, but they are missing out on the much sought-after Kolaghat special. Pollution in the Rupnarayan river and monsoon troughs are not enticing the hilsas to come ashore.
Mr Surojit Bag, additional director of fisheries (marine), said owing to frequent depression and cyclonic conditions in the Bay of Bengal, the fishermen, who venture deep into the sea, had no option but to stay anchored. "Moreover, this time the onset of monsoon was not accompanied by any easterly breeze ~ which is responsible for diverting the shoals of Hilsa to move from the sea to the river for the purpose of breeding," Mr Bag said.
The Kolaghat hilsas are supposed to be the most delectable. Fish connoisseurs believe the smell and taste of the Kolaghat hilsas is much better than Padma or Ganga hilsa. But the sorry state of the market says much about its availability this year and, to top it all, some sellers are cashing in on the Digha hilsa by passing them off as the Kolaghat variety.
The scarcity has also affected fishermen from Kolaghat. Having taken hefty loans to prepare special nylon fishing nets for the hilsa season, the scarcity of the silver-fins till date has left them in debt.
“Pollution caused by fly-ash and oily by-products of Kolaghat Thermal Power Plant in the Rupnarayan river is taking its toll. Besides, the weather has not been favourable yet, due to which hilsas are not appearing in the Rupnarayan,” said Mr Sukanta Das, a fisherman in the Kolaghat station market.
“We are compelled to sell inferior varieties for Rs 150 to Rs 200 per kg as they have the maximum takers. But we’re losing out a lot on the Kolaghat variety which were the most high-priced ones,” said Mr Bikash Maity, a fish-seller.
Concerned over the amount of small-size hilsas swamping the markets, Mr Bag said?: “We will conduct raids in every market within a few days and all small-size hilsas would be seized from the traders. And those who are responsible for selling small-size hilsas will be penalised.”
Last year the fisheries department had relaxed  fishing rules to some extent as the Bangladesh government had stopped exporting hilsa to its neighbouring countries. But, from this year, the fisheries department has imposed strict restriction from early catching of hilsas which are less than 500 gm.
Reports from various fish markets in Midnapore East district reveals hilsas weighing between 750 and 1.2 kg are selling at Rs 280 to Rs 300 a kg while those weighing between 500 and 750 grams are being offered at Rs 200 to Rs 250. The price of hilsas, weighing between 250 and 350 grams, is between Rs 100 and Rs 120 in the retail market. Fisheries officials hope that prices could go down by about Rs 50 to Rs 100 when hilsas from Digha and Frezuregunj arrive in the markets.