Human skeletal remains were unearthed from the Narayangarh area of West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district on Friday.
The discovery follows the recovery of skeletons, allegedly remains of seven Trinamool Congress supporters from the district's Benachapra village, in June this year and that of another skeleton inside the septic tank of a primary school near Nandigram in Purba Medinipur district a couple of days ago.
According to the police, a local Communist Party of India (Marxist) worker pointed out the spot at Narayangarh where the body of a Trinamool Congress was buried after being killed 11 years ago.
Identifying the clothes dug out with the skeleton, local resident Arati Das claimed the remains to be that of her husband Probodh Das who was an active Trinamool Congress supporter and was missing since 2000.
Incidentally, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and senior CPI(M) leader Surjya Kanta Mishra was elected from the Narayangarh seat in the recent Assembly elections.
“A local CPI(M) worker Swapan Das confessed burying the body of a Trinamool Congress supporter at the spot in the face of questioning by the local people. Mr. Das also showed the exact spot where the body was buried. The police were informed subsequently and we started digging the place. Human skeletal remains of one person were found there,” Miraj Khalid, Additional Superintendent of Police (Kharagpur), told The Hindu .
Mr. Khalid said excavation will continue on Saturday also as the police suspected the presence of more skeletal remains at the spot.
“Mr. Das has already been detained and a case will be registered on Saturday following which he will be arrested and questioned. Arati Das has claimed the skeletal remains to be that of her missing husband. This can be verified only after DNA tests,” he added.
While the State's former Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs Minister and present CPI(M) MLA Sushanta Ghosh is already in judicial custody in connection with his alleged involvement in the skeleton-recovery case at Benachapara, another senior CPI(M) leader and former MP Lakshman Seth has been named in the first information report filed in connection with the recovery of a skeleton earlier this week from the septic tank of a primary school at Burtala village in Purba Mediniur district.
The village is located a few kilometres from Nandigram which witnessed intermittent violence in 2007.
Forty-eight CPI(M) leaders and workers have been named in the FIR filed in the case by Anima Das who claimed to have identified the remains to be that of her husband Subrata Das who was missing since February 2001.
