Suspected Maoists gunned down yet another person at Bandwan in West Bengal's Purulia district late on Thursday.
Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purakayastha told The Hindu on Friday that Mansaram Singh was abducted and shot dead by unidentified assailants. Left-wing extremists were the primary suspects, the IG said.
The victim was reportedly a CPI (Marxist) leader earlier but of late he joined the Trinamool Congress.
Meanwhile, senior Maoist ideologue and Polit Bureau member Kobad Ghandy is expected to be produced before the Midnapore court on April 26 in connection with the case of triggering a landmine blast targeting the Chief Minister's convoy in November 2008.
Though he was to be produced in the court on April 12, a Delhi police team, which escorted Mr. Ghandy on the Rajdhani Express, aborted the journey at Allahabad following intelligence inputs of possible armed interception by Maoists to free him.
Violence unabated
Maoist violence continues to rage in Jangalmahal (forested southwestern part of the State) even 10 months after security operations were launched in the region to flush out the rebels.
While violence refuses to subside in the forested areas and on the fringes, the rebels have been steadily spreading their tentacles in several peripheral areas in the last five months.
According to the Home Ministry's annual report 2009-10, while 26 persons were killed by Maoists in 35 incidents in the State in 2008, the casualties shot up to 158 in 255 incidents in 2009.
Director-General of Police Bhupinder Singh said strategies were being worked out to contain the mushrooming Maoist influence in new areas.
While short reconnaissance operations were already undertaken by the security forces on the strategic borders of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Orissa, an intensified offensive would be launched “shortly,” he said.
