Burn attempt on CPM activist

Gaurpada Sarkar at his
home in Gangarampur.
Picture by Shantanu Misra

TT, Balurghat, April 13: Two supposed Trinamul workers today chased a CPM activist into his own home and doused him with kerosene in a bid to set him on fire but fled after the family and neighbours came to the rescue.

In South Dinajpur, this was the second alleged Trinamul attack on a Left leader or supporter in as many days. Yesterday, the former district secretary of the CPM, Manabesh Chaudhury, was allegedly assaulted during a campaign by alleged Trinamul workers at ward 18 in Gangarampur.

CPM activists, today marching to the district magistrate's office to protest the two attacks, were "beaten back" by the police. While the CPM activists said the police baton-charged at them at the instruction of the district magistrate, officials said they were beaten back.

No lathicharge happened. District magistrate Tapas Choudhury refused to comment on the CPM's allegation that he had ordered the baton-charge.

According to CPM activists, around 7am today, a group of Trinamul workers was tearing down CPM flags and festoons and setting them on fire near the house of Gaurpada Sarkar in ward 14 in Gangarampur, about 45km from Balurghat.

Policemen beat back CPM activists near the district magistrate’s office on
Monday. Picture by Mithun Roy

Gaurpada said he was standing outside the house when he saw "a group of Trinamul supporters burning CPM flags". 

Seeing him, two of them charged towards him, and Gaurpada ran inside his house. The two, whom Gaurpada later identified as Sankar Ghosh and Nabadwip Roy, chased him into his own home, shouting: "Set him on fire."

The duo allegedly doused Sarkar, who is a school headmaster, in kerosene but Sarkar's younger brother Nityananda, who lives in the neighbourhood, heard his cries for help and arrived.

"Around 7am, some miscreants led by two local people who are Trinamul activists came in front of my house with kerosene and started destroying the CPM party flags and setting them on fire. They forcibly entered my house. After entering, they started abusing me for being a CPM activist and told me that I should be burnt. When I protested, they grabbed me and one of them threw kerosene at me. On hearing my screams, my relatives and local people from the neighbourhood came and rescued me. The miscreants managed to flee," said Gaurpada.

In the evening, Gaurpada filed a police complaint in which, he said, he had named Ghosh and Roy.

The police confirmed they had got a police complaint but refused to say if the CPM had mentioned specific names.

"We have received an allegation in this regard and have started an investigation," said Samir Deusa, the inspector in-charge of Gangarampur.

Trinamul denied the charge that its activists had tried to set a CPM activist on fire. "The CPM has lost ground here and is spreading rumours. There has been no such incident and the allegation is false," said Biplab Mitra, Trinamul's district president.

The outgoing Gangarampur municipal board was controlled by the CPM which had 12 seats. Trinamul had six members.

In order to protest the attack on the CPM leader yesterday and Gaurpada today, the party took out a march in Gangarampur town later today.

A CPM source said when the procession came near the district magistrate's office, the police and the marchers got into a tussle.

"We had organised a peaceful procession to protest against the terror of Trinamul in Gangarampur for a couple of days. There is no democracy here. But the police indiscriminately lathi-charged our party comrades. At least 40 people, including some women, were injured. The lathi-charge was done at the instruction of the district magistrate who is playing a partisan role. We will continue our movement," said Amit Sarkar, a CPM district secretariat member.

When Metro contacted district magistrate Chaudhury, he said: "I will not comment on the issue."

Sandip Dutta, the subdivisional officer of Balurghat, said: "There was no lathicharge. There was only a push-back."

Photographs taken at the spot showed some policemen beating back a CPM flag-bearing crowd. A lathi-charge, which is done in formation and with protective gear on, was not apparent from the photographs.