மாவோயிஸ்டுகள் கிராமத்தினரை அச்சுருத்த சுட்டதில் ஒரு மூன்றாம் வகுப்பு மாணவர் படுகாயம்

மாவோயிஸ்டுகள் கிராமத்தினரை அச்சுருத்த சுட்டதில் ஒரு மூன்றாம் வகுப்பு மாணவர் படுகாயம் அடைந்தார்.

சுட்டதால் கடுப்படைந்த கிராமத்தினர் அந்த நான்கு மாவோயிஸ்டுகளையும் துரத்தி சென்று அமுக்கினர். அதில் ஸ்வாபன் சுத்ரதார் என்ற மாவோயிஸ்டு தலைவனும் கைது செய்யப்பட்டான்.

‘Maoists’ fire at villagers, boy in hospital
OUR CORRESPONDENT
Behrampore, March 23: A group of four identified themselves as Maoists, asked villagers on night patrol not to bother them and opened fire from revolvers when challenged.

Three residents of Tehatta village in Murshidabad, including a Class III boy who had stepped out of home with his father to see what the commotion was all about, were injured.

Undeterred by the firing, villagers chased the quartet and nabbed team leader Swapan Sutradhar, 34, a “known Maoist” wanted by police in connection with at least five criminal cases, including murder.

A police team rescued Swapan after an hour’s thrashing by villagers armed with sticks and rods.

Murshidabad superintendent of police Basab Dasgupta said: “Swapan, a resident of Birbhum’s Mayureswar, is a known Maoist.”

He was grilled at Behrampore New General Hospital and two of his alleged associates were picked up from Naoda, 20km away, hours later.

“Yasin Sheikh and Jalamin Sheikh are between 28 and 30,” Dasgupta said.

Yasin and Jalamin, however, were not part of the quartet chased at Hariharpara, about 350km from Calcutta.

Apparently small farmers, they were picked up from their homes around 3am and charged with waging war against the state.

Around 11.30 last night, a group of 15, on vigil to prevent thefts, spotted the four “strangers” at Tehatta.

“When the villagers asked them who they were, they said they were Maoists and better be left alone. It appears they were coming from the Birbhum side and were on their way to Naoda,” said an officer of the local Hariharpara police station.

“When we asked them to surrender, the Maoists whipped out revolvers and started firing at us. Hearing our shouts, many villagers rushed out of their houses,” said one of the injured villagers, Deedar Sheikh.

Nine-year-old Jabarul Sheikh, who was standing in front of his house, was hit in the leg.

Doctors at the local Amtala rural hospital took out a bullet lodged in his right leg and said he was safe.

Deedar said: “A bullet grazed my left leg and I fell.”

Abdul Halim, 32, also received a grazing injury in his leg.

“When the child was hit, we became distracted and the Maoists started fleeing,” said Jabarul’s father Mohsin, a farmer.

The villagers, however, recovered from the initial shock in a couple of minutes and started their chase.

“We suspect many Maoists are hiding in the Naoda area,” Basak said.

Naoda, in Murshidabad, borders Nadia.

Swapan will be interrogated again when his condition improves, he added.