01-08-2007, 07:47 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Nandigram haunted by night of long knives </b>
Pioneer.com
Saugar Sengupta | Nandigram
CPM let loose terror as police watched as mute spectators
Suleiman Sheikh is just 15 and has learnt the art of fighting back his tears in one full night of nightmare. After much cajoling and 'reassurance', he describes his ordeal: "Kaku (uncle) I haven't seen a gorier night than this. My father told me to be with the protectors of lands. I was guarding the field with one hundred men. The road across the canal leads to Khejuri. <b>The dakatdal (band of robbers) eyeing our lands were parked at Tekhali (a CPI(M) dominated village) on the other side of the road. And we were at the Sonachura side.
"After the whole night's strain I had dozed off a bit when there was a loud bang and I was jerked out of my slumber. A bomb had exploded right beside my uncle who is admitted in Nandigram health centre</b>.
"Then all hell broke loose. Our men were running towards the road separating the two sides with whatever weapon they had while bullets and bombs flew over my head. Not knowing what to do I chose a direction and ran. It was still very dark. On my way near the canal I stumbled upon a man. He was still alive trembling. I knew him by face. He was Salim and he looked at me helplessly. Before I could help him, a gang charged at us and I ran away, towards the bushes (bamboo shrubs). Later they said Salim had died.
<b>"From a distance, I saw a group of men holding a person. He was pleading for life but they continued to stab him... five-six times perhaps and shot him through his neck. I do not remember what happened then as I passed out." Suleiman's father, a marginal farmer at Sonachura, is an active member of the CPI "still don't understand why they are targeting us." </b>
Despite being in the Left Front, <b>the CPI has been protesting the acquisition of farmlands for Salem Group's SEZ project. "As it turns out, the CPI(M), once a party of have-nots, consecrated richer Salem's project with poor Salim's blood," </b>a local leader said.
<b>Describes Samar Manna how the villagers discovered a charred body by the canal half-eaten by the dogs. "We saw the dogs biting off loaves of flesh.</b> I suppose this was Bharat who was first stabbed and then set on fire." The police clearly on the defensive, however, would not reveal a word.
There have been reports that both sides: the Trinamool Congress-backed Save Farmland activists, which also has a fare bit of Maoists within its fold and the CPI(M) have been importing arms and men from neighbouring Keshpur-Garbeta and Orissa. <b>"We have reports that hundreds of suspected Maoists have infiltrated from Orissa through Kanthi to fight the police. They are all armed," </b>says IG Arun Gupta. This whereas Kanthi Trinamool MLA Subendu Adhikari says, "The CPI(M) has been importing sophisticated loads of arms in ambulances and police jeeps from Garbeta and Keshpur... They are following the Keshpur line by launching pre-dawn attacks."
Meanwhile, Opposition Congress and the Trinamool Congress jointly held the "CPI(M)-backed" police for the "butchery that was perpetrated at Nandigram on Sunday morning". Demanding the immediate sacking of IG Arun Gupta and DIG NR Babu, State Opposition leader Partho Chattopadhyay said: "The police were hand-in-gloves with the CPI(M) cadre and remained away from the spot of occurrence so as to help the Marxist goons to enter Sonachura and slaughter the protesting villagers... We want these two officers to be removed immediately from the area."
Dwelling on the modus operandi of the "invaders", senior Trinamool MLA Saugato Roy said: "While police remained away at the instance of their bosses at Writers' Buildings, the CPI(M) cadre entered the villages in police fatigue and butchered the people at will... Can the Government expect the situation to calm down?"
Apparently as well, the political Opposition looked helpless and even some of them conceded how things are fast slipping out of their hands. "It is strange how so many people converged in one place so suddenly. For sure, the Trinamool Congress had not conducted any significant programme here. It seems the Maoists have a hand in it. But whatever be the truth, this is helping the farmers' cause," a senior district Trinamool leader said.
<b>The Congress on the other hand looked more vociferous with CLP leader Manas Bhuian castigating the police for "behaving like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde".It is strange that the police were within a few hundred metres but refused to intervene. At least ten people have died, out of which three bodies are still missing. Are we to assume then that the Government has kept them to reinforce the ranks of killers?" </b>
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Pioneer.com
Saugar Sengupta | Nandigram
CPM let loose terror as police watched as mute spectators
Suleiman Sheikh is just 15 and has learnt the art of fighting back his tears in one full night of nightmare. After much cajoling and 'reassurance', he describes his ordeal: "Kaku (uncle) I haven't seen a gorier night than this. My father told me to be with the protectors of lands. I was guarding the field with one hundred men. The road across the canal leads to Khejuri. <b>The dakatdal (band of robbers) eyeing our lands were parked at Tekhali (a CPI(M) dominated village) on the other side of the road. And we were at the Sonachura side.
"After the whole night's strain I had dozed off a bit when there was a loud bang and I was jerked out of my slumber. A bomb had exploded right beside my uncle who is admitted in Nandigram health centre</b>.
"Then all hell broke loose. Our men were running towards the road separating the two sides with whatever weapon they had while bullets and bombs flew over my head. Not knowing what to do I chose a direction and ran. It was still very dark. On my way near the canal I stumbled upon a man. He was still alive trembling. I knew him by face. He was Salim and he looked at me helplessly. Before I could help him, a gang charged at us and I ran away, towards the bushes (bamboo shrubs). Later they said Salim had died.
<b>"From a distance, I saw a group of men holding a person. He was pleading for life but they continued to stab him... five-six times perhaps and shot him through his neck. I do not remember what happened then as I passed out." Suleiman's father, a marginal farmer at Sonachura, is an active member of the CPI "still don't understand why they are targeting us." </b>
Despite being in the Left Front, <b>the CPI has been protesting the acquisition of farmlands for Salem Group's SEZ project. "As it turns out, the CPI(M), once a party of have-nots, consecrated richer Salem's project with poor Salim's blood," </b>a local leader said.
<b>Describes Samar Manna how the villagers discovered a charred body by the canal half-eaten by the dogs. "We saw the dogs biting off loaves of flesh.</b> I suppose this was Bharat who was first stabbed and then set on fire." The police clearly on the defensive, however, would not reveal a word.
There have been reports that both sides: the Trinamool Congress-backed Save Farmland activists, which also has a fare bit of Maoists within its fold and the CPI(M) have been importing arms and men from neighbouring Keshpur-Garbeta and Orissa. <b>"We have reports that hundreds of suspected Maoists have infiltrated from Orissa through Kanthi to fight the police. They are all armed," </b>says IG Arun Gupta. This whereas Kanthi Trinamool MLA Subendu Adhikari says, "The CPI(M) has been importing sophisticated loads of arms in ambulances and police jeeps from Garbeta and Keshpur... They are following the Keshpur line by launching pre-dawn attacks."
Meanwhile, Opposition Congress and the Trinamool Congress jointly held the "CPI(M)-backed" police for the "butchery that was perpetrated at Nandigram on Sunday morning". Demanding the immediate sacking of IG Arun Gupta and DIG NR Babu, State Opposition leader Partho Chattopadhyay said: "The police were hand-in-gloves with the CPI(M) cadre and remained away from the spot of occurrence so as to help the Marxist goons to enter Sonachura and slaughter the protesting villagers... We want these two officers to be removed immediately from the area."
Dwelling on the modus operandi of the "invaders", senior Trinamool MLA Saugato Roy said: "While police remained away at the instance of their bosses at Writers' Buildings, the CPI(M) cadre entered the villages in police fatigue and butchered the people at will... Can the Government expect the situation to calm down?"
Apparently as well, the political Opposition looked helpless and even some of them conceded how things are fast slipping out of their hands. "It is strange how so many people converged in one place so suddenly. For sure, the Trinamool Congress had not conducted any significant programme here. It seems the Maoists have a hand in it. But whatever be the truth, this is helping the farmers' cause," a senior district Trinamool leader said.
<b>The Congress on the other hand looked more vociferous with CLP leader Manas Bhuian castigating the police for "behaving like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde".It is strange that the police were within a few hundred metres but refused to intervene. At least ten people have died, out of which three bodies are still missing. Are we to assume then that the Government has kept them to reinforce the ranks of killers?" </b>
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