BUPC man shot at in Nandigram

NANDIGRAM: For the first time since CPM "recaptured" Nandigram last November, violence erupted yet again at the battle-scarred zone on Sunday.

A Bhumi Uchchhed Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) supporter was shot at and three others were seriously injured when a group of CPM men allegedly opened fire at Keyakhali near Satengabari.

Debashish Mondol, the BUPC supporter, was hit on stomach and thigh. He was rushed to the Tamluk Subdivisional Hospital and later taken to SSKM Hospital in Kolkata. Local CPM leaders did not deny the involvement of their supporters in the incident, while claiming that some of their partymen had also been injured. No arrests were made. Trinamool Congress and BUPC have called a Nandigram bandh on Monday.

The incident occurred around 1.30 pm, when Mondol's house was attacked allegedly by a group of 40 armed CPM men. After a few minutes of scuffle, the assailants fired at him. Hearing the gunshots, some BUPC supporters rushed to his rescue.

A clash ensued between the two groups which left four other BUPC men injured. Bullets were fired indiscriminately.

While Mondol - a teacher at the Satengabari School - received bullet wounds, another BUPC supporter, Jaladhar Das, was beaten up.

BUPC blamed police for the violence. "Police don't allow the CRPF teams to patrol the villages anymore. This is one of the reasons why our supporters are coming under attack again. How could the armed CPM men enter the area, fire indiscriminately and walk away? The police, as usual, have been a mute spectator," said BUPC and Trinamool Congress leader Abu Taher.

The trouble, according to some, can be traced to a family dispute between a CPM and BUPC supporter. "It had been brewing for sometime at Garchakraberia and police knew about it. The CPM supporters assaulted the BUPC men under the pretext of settling a personal score," said Trinamool MLA Shishir Adhikari.

BUPC leaders also claimed that while the CPM district leadership was trying to bring back peace, workers at the grassroots were not always following their instructions. Some CPM leaders, too, accepted that there has been a communication gap.

"Our workers were preparing for a party conference at Satengabari when some BUPC men attacked them. They retaliated. But we will not tolerate any act of violence even by our supporters. The police should take action," said Ashok Guria, CPM state secretariat member.

He added that two CPM men were also injured in the clash.