The areas of Jhargram, Lalgarh, were disturbed by Maoist outfits, which were terrorist organisations banned under UAPA, he pointed out. Of the nine accused for the Jnaneswari train carnage, PCAPA members Bapi Mahato and Bimal Mahato have already made their confessional statements to the magistrate.

So the Maoists might carry out strikes to kill them and destroy crucial evidences in the case, Roy pointed out. He added that the Maoist outfits were capable of carrying out strikes on both the accused persons and the CBI team on the way from Midnapore jail to Jhargram during production in court, he noted.

The Maoists were very active in a more-than-20 km forest stretch between Midnapore and Jhargram that the CBI team would have to pass through regularly in case the trial is held in Jhargram, said Roy. Referring to the train carnage, the advocate-general observed that it did not merely amount to the killing of 150 people. The sabotage had been carried out by the Maoists and PCAPA in a calculated move to terrorise the whole area as well as the state and to disturb the democratic process.

The Maoists and their frontal organisation, PCAPA, were carrying out activities against the state machinery to subvert the democratic structure, added Roy. He submitted that the High Court was empowered to pass an order for transfer of the case from Jhargram to Kolkata.

Justice Ashim Kumar Roy asked how many times the accused persons had been produced in the Jhargram court and whether the CBI team had faced any difficulties during their production in court. Advocate Himansu De, counsel for the CBI, replied that they were produced in the Jhargram court eight times, adding that “the situation in those areas is very much disturbed”.

The CBI said in its application that the Jhargram SP had advised it to transfer the case from that town to any other place. Justice Roy asked Roy and De where the Jhargram SP’s letter was.

There are provision in the UAPA act for production of the accused persons after a month. De apprised the High Court that during production of the accused persons on July 29, the CBI had moved an application seeking an order to produce them after one month instead of the normal 14 days. However, the ACJM court had rejected the CBI’s application filed in the Jhargram court.

Justice Roy wanted to see the CBI application but De did not produce it in court. The case will come up for hearing on Thursday.

Maoists give forces the slip after triggering landmine
A group of Maoists triggered a landmine blast and managed to flee when joint forces surprised them on Wednesday during a raid at Memul jungle in Salboni.

Nobody was hurt in the explosion. “We have recovered two guns and two landmines left behind by them,” said West Midnapore SP Manoj Verma. Recently the police killed self-styled dreaded Maoist leader Sidhu Soren and five cadres during a raid in the same area. PTI