CPI(M) recaptures area in Nandigram before panchayat poll

Nandigram (WB), May 5: In a re-enactment of recapture of Nandigram in November last year, armed CPI(M) cadres today took control of a stronghold of an opposition Trinamool Congress-backed outfit, spearheading an agitation against acquisition of farmland, ahead of next Sunday's panchayat poll.East Midnapore district superintendent of police S Panda said Roynagar, Jambari and Simalkunda areas in Satengabari village witnessed violence with guns and bombs being used.He, however, declined to identify the attackers.The TC-supported Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee members said armed CPI(M) cadres on motorcycles hurled bombs and opened fire at Satengabari before capturing it, forcing 3,000 BUPC supporters to flee their homes.After the recapture, the CPI(M) cadres attacked a relief camp where 300 BUPC members were sheltered at Maheshpur, they said.Five BUPC supporters were missing after the attack, they alleged.CPI(M) district secretariat member Ashok Guria admitted his partymen had carried out an operation but claimed it was to rescue three CPI(M) men.He claimed a CPI(M) cadre was shot by BUPC activists and four others were injured. ''They (BUPC) opened fire and our men retaliated.''

400 displaced after CPM-Trinamool clash in Nandigram

Nandigram: A fresh clash between supporters of the State's ruling CPM and those of the Opposition Trinamool Congress erupted in Nandigram on Sunday even as 400 villagers were sheltered in relief camps following mounting violence in the run up to coming panchayat elections.

Police said two groups of the rival political parties clashed with bombs at Sonachura on Sunday morning. No one was, however, injured.

Official sources said the displaced villagers had been sheltered in two relief camps near the BDO office in Nandigram and adjacent Maheshpur for the past few days. They have come from Sonachura and Garchakrabaria villages.

Mamata convoy attacked in Nandigram

NANDIGRAM: A day after CPM workers allegedly gangraped a woman in Nandigram, tension gripped the area again on Sunday.

The convoys of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Contai MLA Shubhendu Adhikary were allegedly attacked by CPM supporters while the police stood silent.
The two were on their way to Garupara in Gokulnagar, which has witnessed violent clashes since Friday night.

Accusing cops of acting against Opposition members, Trinamool’s Egra MLA Shishir Adhikary lodged a complaint against Nandigram police station officer-in-charge Debashish Chakraborty.
Mamata’s convoy came to a halt when CPM supporters — allegedly carrying firearms — attacked it near Gokulnagar around 4 pm. She alleged that the men misbehaved with her when she came out of her car to remove those blocking the convoy’s way.

Trinamool leaders alleged that additional SP (Haldia) Prasun Banerjee and additional SP (headquarters) S M H Mirza were present, but did not act.

Shubhendu was heading for Garupara via another route around the same time, when an equally strong group of CPM supporters stopped his vehicle at Pramanikpara. He alleged that the Nandigram OC, who was present at the spot, did nothing to stop the rampaging mob. “Instead, he was asking CPM supporters not to let me go,” Shubhendu added.

Nandigram takes over 'price rise' bandh

KOLKATA: Nandigram cast its shadow on price rise - the reason for yet another bandh in West Bengal on Monday. Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee took to the streets early morning to enthuse the small band of supporters who dared the hours ahead of a blazing sun.

The mercury touched 40 degrees but it didn't deter the bandh proponents - although most Kolkatans would have preferred to stay indoors anyway. The bandh, thus, became an excuse. Mamata once again attacked the CPM on Nandigram alleging she had been roughed up by the Red toughs.

Around 11.15 am, Mamata along with supporters of Trinamul Congress and the party's new-found ally SUCI marched on Hazra Road. From the Hazra Crossing she walked till Jadubabu's bazar. The bandh supporters again turned left before hitting Harish Mukherjee road. From there they went till Kali Temple road and then Ashutosh Mukherjee road before culminating at Hazra Road.

The closed shops and handful of people on the streets were enough for Mamata to call the bandh a success early in the day. By early afternoon she announced curtailing the bandh duration by two hours.

"I dare the CPM to stop supporting the UPA government. If the rising prices of essential commodities has hurt them why don't they do something about it?" Mamata said after her march. She claimed she had forced the NDA government to rollback petroleum prices when she was a part of the ministry. "I took back my resignation after the government reduced the petroleum prices. What have the CPM leaders done? They are clinging to power in Delhi and singing a different tune in Kolkata," she said.

Most of her 20-minute speech was on what happened at Nandigram on Sunday. "Police did nothing while the CPM goons hit our vehicles. They threw stones. Anything could've happened to us or to the mediapersons accompanying us. The officer-in-charge of Nandigram police station was busy taking photographs and didn't stop them," she said.

Mamata referred to the alleged attacks on her in the past by CPM-backed goons. "Wherever I've gone, they've attacked me," she said. She will be returning to Nandigram again on Wednesday to address a public meeting. There were few incidents of violence across Kolkata.
In a departure from the past, the volatile SUCI supporters, who had turned out and walked along side their Trinamul counterparts, did not attack policemen.