The ultimatum from the tribal body came a day after SDO Jhargram asked the O-C of Lalgarh police station to furnish a report mentioning the whereabouts of Adak and Bera who were not produced in court 10 days after their arrest.

“It is totally unlawful to detain someone for over 24 hours and not produce him in the court. We suspect that the police have killed Raju and Joydeb or they have been handed over to the cadres of the CPM,” said PCAPA spokesperson Asit Mahato.

“If the state government does not make its stand clear on the whereabouts of the duo, we will resort to agitation in the three districts of Bankura, West Midnapore and Purulia,” Mahato added.

“In case of any defiance, we will go on the rampage and torch all vehicles that will ply in the Junglemahal area,” said Mahato.

Superintendent of Police (West Midnapore) Manoj Verma, however, denied that Adak and Bera were arrested by the police.

A senior police official said that a suspected Maoist identified as Dumba carrying arms was also arrested from Parulia village in Salboni later in the day.

One PCAPA member ‘killed’ in Salboni
The People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) on Wednesday claimed that one of its member was killed at Sundarpur village near Salboni in West Mindapore district on Tuesday night by CPM men. The police have, however, denied that any such incident has taken place.

The PCAPA alleged that goons hired by CPM had attacked the village and killed Durga Charan Mahato. Asit Mahato, spokesperson of the PCAPA, said the CPM goons had encircled the village for hours but the police didn’t bother to enter the area. He also added that the police didn’t recover Durga’s body, which was lying in the village.

Superintendent of Police (West Midnapore) Manoj Verma, meanwhile, said that they have not received any such information.

Sources in the local CPM unit, though confirmed that one “Maoist” was killed in Sundarpur, they gave a different version of the incident.

According to sources in CPM West Midnapore District Committee, an armed group of Maoists had attacked Sundarpur village last night and the CPM cadres tried to resist them. They said that after the CPM mobilised its cadres in Salboni, the Maoists are desperate to recapture the area.