The Maoists killed five CPI(M) party supporters in the Jangallmahal on Friday in protest of the reported illegal detentions by the security forces. “The Maoists would continue this bloodbath in the Jangalmahal if the Maoists,
who have been illegally detained, are not produced before the court,” read the Maoist posters found from near the bodies. Out of the five, four were killed near Sildah in West Midnapore, while one was murdered at Arsa in Purulia district.
Incidentally, the Maoists came wearing police uniforms, which the police suspects is a deliberate ploy to defame them.
“There has been a large number of incidents when the Maoists have looted homes, raped village women wearing police uniforms so as to falsely implicate us. Even on Thursday, they came in police uniforms and killed the four villagers,” said superintendent of police West Midnapore Manoj Verma.
Mr Verma added, “Last year in August-September when the security forces were just entering the Jangalmahal area for the first time, there were several cases when the Maoists attacked in Lakshmanpur and Mathurapur in Salboni in police uniform. They even registered false cases against the police.”
Official sources revealed that a group of armed Maoists, all dressed in police attire, knocked the door of CPI(M) supporter Ashok Ahir and introduced themselves as the police. They then asked Ashok and his brother Sanatan to accompany them to the local Binpur police station. Similarly, they kidnapped Swapan Ahir, Fulchand Ahir and Najrul Meer from their residences in the same locality and forced them in a payloader.
However, when the payloader stopped in the road for a very short time, Fulchand jumped off the vehicle and managed to flee. Hours later on Friday morning, the bullet-ridden bodies of the remaining four were recovered from the roadside at Jabalpur under the Belpahari police station. All four had their hands tied in the back. Similarly, one Srikanta Mahato was killed by Maoists at Pathordi village in Baghmundi police station in Purulia area on Thursday night.