Five arrests in twin attacks 4 linked to KLO, 1 KPP leader

Chandan Roy in Jalpaiguri on Sunday.
Picture by Biplab Basak

TT, Dec. 29:Police have arrested a former KLO militant in connection with the blast in Jalpaiguri town on Thursday.

In Malda, four more persons, three suspected to be linked to the KLO and one Kamtapur People’s Party (KPP) central committee member, were held in connection with a shooting that injured four bus passengers on Friday.

Chandan Roy, the former KLO militant who was arrested is a resident of Mainaguri. Six persons died in the IED blast in Jalpaiguri town.

The district administration today also clamped prohibitory orders on a 5km road connecting the district magistrate’s office to Paharpur More, the spot near which the explosion was triggered.

The restriction was brought to prevent the Kamtapur People’s Party (KPP), from holding a sit-in it had planned outside the divisional commissioner’s office tomorrow.

The sit-in was to protest the the divisional commissioner’s denial of permission to the KPP to hold a bicycle rally across north Bengal over the demand of a separate Kamtapur state.

“We have been carrying out the investigation since the blast. There were several inputs on the basis of which, we have nabbed Chandan Roy, a trained KLO militant, for his involvement in the blast,” said Amit P. Javalgi, the superintendent of police of Jalpaiguri. 
According to police sources, Roy, a resident of Ambari under Mainaguri police station, was a KLO militant who had taken training in Bhutan. He was arrested later but released on bail. 
“I earn a living as a daily worker and do not have any connections with KLO. I have no idea why I was arrested in connection with the blast,” said Roy, who was produced in the additional district and sessions court and remanded in police custody for 10 days. 

“He was arrested in connection with the case as we got certain information regarding his cellphone usage,” a police officer said. 
Pritha Sarkar, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri, said prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, had been clamped on the 5km stretch on the road from Paharpur More to the district collectorate from 5pm today indefinitely. 
“KPP intends to carry out a demonstration at the divisional commissioner’s office tomorrow. To ensure that there is no deterioration in law and order due to this movement by the KPP, it has been decided to clamp the prohibitory orders,” Sarkar said. 
The KPP has decided to postpone the sit-in planned tomorrow. 
In Malda, police chief Kalyan Mukherjee said: “We … could nab these four persons today. 
Two of them, Subhash Burman and Falen Burman, are directly involved in the firing. We have come to know that last week, a meeting was held by KLO militant Malkhan Singh on December 26 at Jajoi village under Gazole block, where all of them were present. 
At the meeting, Malkhan had reportedly instructed them to carry out subversive activities across Malda district on December 27, 28 and 29 to create panic among people.” 
Subhash is a central committee member of KPP. 
The other two, arrested in the bus firing case are Satish Rajbanshi and Anindya Roy.