Seven local leaders and workers of the All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB), including a woman, were gunned down by suspected Maoists in four separate incidents in the Jhalda area of West Bengal's Purulia district late on Thursday.
With the current killings, the total number of AIFB leaders and supporters killed in the district in the last four months stands at 12, according to sources in the party.
Police sources said four teams of Left-Wing Extremists attacked four villages in the Jhalda-I block, which is located in the foothills of the Ayodhya Hill that forms the border between West Bengal and Jharkhand, and raided the houses of the local party leaders.
Amid security operations
Incidentally, joint security operations are on in the region, especially in the rugged terrains of the bordering areas.
“All the seven persons were abducted from their houses and later shot dead. The entire operation took place between 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. We have already started combing operations in the area in search of the culprits,” Superintendent of Police Sunil Chowdhury said.
A group of 10 to 12 rebels first raided the house of Chandicharan Singh Sardar, president of the Gutiloa village panchayat samiti. Upon not finding him there, the group abducted his brother and local Forward Bloc leader Tapan Singh Sardar and killed him near the house.
A second team stormed into the houses of Chapala Garai, president of the Bagbandi village panchayat, Gopeswar Mahato, Kinkar Singh and Gobardhan Singh and abducted them.
“They were taken to a nearby forest area and shot dead. They did not spare even Ms. Garai or the 72-year-old Mahato, who was having dinner when he was taken away,” Forward Bloc district MP Narahari Mahato told The Hindu.
Two other teams raided the houses of Ananta Mahato and tribal leader Aju Singh Sardar in Chirutar and Naugarh villages, and killed them in a similar fashion.
Nexus alleged
Mr. Narahari Mahato alleged that the killings were the outcome of a “nexus between Maoists and the Opposition parties to destabilise the Forward Bloc in the region ahead of the State Assembly elections, where the latter enjoys considerable political presence.”
