NEWS

Jail escapee Naxal leader arrested after 23 years

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 23: A Naxilite leader associated with COC-CPIML (2nd CC), Mr Ajit Chakraborty, who escaped from Cooch Behar District Jail in 1985 was produced at a court here today. He will be produced again in the court of the additional district and sessions judge Mr PK Bandyopadhyay on 28 July.

 

It was learnt that Mr Chakraborty alias Tyara Master, a resident of Diamond Harbour, was engaged in different political activities in north Bengal on behalf of his organisation. In 1981 a case of sedition was brought against him in Jalpaiguri. There were several cases against him in Cooch Behar district too. During trial of the cases he was in Cooch Behar District Jail but he managed to escape from there with five others on 16 May 1985. Since then he was absconding.

 

The police nabbed the Naxilite leader from Hanskhali in 24 Parganas on 3 April of this year. On being informed Cooch Behar Police brought him and produced him in the court of the additional district and sessions judge today. In the court Mr Chakraborty, who is now 68, claimed himself as a Maoist. Mr Pijush Barman appeared on the government side in the court today. A large contingent of police force was deployed around the court premises to maintain peace. []

 

New chairman of Mekhliganj Municipality

 

COOCH BEHAR, July 23: Mr Sailen Das of Forward Bloc was appointed as the chairman of Mekhliganj Municipality today. He is the brother-in-law of state food and supply minister Mr Paresh Adhikary. In the previous board Mr Das was the vice-chairman.

 

Mentionworthy, in the 9-member Mekhliganj Municipality official Forward Bloc candidates won in five seats and dummy FB candidates bagged the remaining four seats. Though the CPI-M and the Forward Bloc had entered into an alliance here and the chairmanship was earmarked for an elected FB candidate, the 'big brother' failed to capture any seat. In the previous board a CPI-M candidate was the chairman but the FB had failed to taste the chairmanship though an agreement was there to share the chair for two-and-half years. This time the local FB activists taught a lesson to the CPI-M for not keeping the promise.

 

It is yet uncertain who will be the vice-chairman in the new board. The minister, Mr Paresh Adhikary denied that there was any dispute in the party over the post of vice-chairman. Meanwhile, the dummy elected candidates expressed their willingness to join the party. []