Around 12.30 am, a group of 10-15 Maoists stormed into the house of 50-year-old Biswanath Murmu at Sakhabhanga village. Murmu was dragged out of his house in front of his family members. Later Murmu’s bullet-ridden body was found near his residence. A couple of months back, Murmu’s son Karan had also been killed by Maoists. Karan was a popular leader of the JMM (A).

In another incident, the Maoists shot at Durga Soren (48), a zonal committee leader of JMM (A). Soren was also called out of his house at midnight and Maoists pumped bullets into him. Later, he was found with four bullet injuries. He has been admitted to the Belpahari hospital in a critical condition.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Jhargram, Murlidhar, said: “We have been informed that one bullet-ridden body has been found in Simulpal. We have sent forces to the area.”

Meanwhile, lawyers of the Jhargram sub-division court today organised a silent rally in and around Jhragram demanding restoration of normalcy in the town.

“We have submitted a deputation to the sub-divisional magistrate. We are not concerned about anything. We want normalcy to return. We are neither trying to shield the Maoists and the members of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) nor are we vouching for the joint forces. We appeal to the administration to take necessary steps to restore normalcy,” said Kaushik Sinha, a lawyer.

On the second day of the strike called by the PCAPA, all the establishments in Jhargram and adjacent areas remained closed.

Meanwhile, a CPM activist Biswanath Kundu was abducted allegedly by the Maoists. A missing complaint has been lodged with the Goaltore police station.

Jhargram gets extra forces as ultras raise the heat
Kolkata: Following reports that Maoists may be shifting base from Lalgarh to Jhargram sub-division in West Midnapore, the state government has decided to send an additional company of Central Paramilitary Forces to Jhargram.

After sporadic incidents of violence in Jhargram recently, including the torching of the deer park and setting ablaze sponge iron units followed by an attack on CPM district committee leader Amiya Sengupta’s house, the state government has decided to boost the reinforce the strength of paramilitary forces in the area.

“We had only two camps of joint forces in Jhargram. We have decided to add one more in Jhargram area,” said state DGP Bhupindar Singh.

Following a spurt in Maoist violence in Jhargram, government establishments, banks and the ACJM court remained closed for the last seven days. Supply of essential commodities has also been hit and the town is running out of stock, said a senior administrative official.

“We held meetings with the police but they said they don’t have adequate forces to even maintain law and order. It is not possible for them to provide security to government establishments, banks and other essential services,” the official said.

A senior police officer said despite intelligence inputs, the police found it difficult to reach a trouble spot on time due to shortage of personnel. “In this condition, how can we provide security to government establishments? After several requests, we have received an additional company of force for Jhargram which is inadequate,” he said.