SNS, SILIGURI / KURSEONG, 20 FEB: The Left Front sponsored Darjeeling district bandh had a near total effect in Siliguri and its adjacent areas today. The bandh was convened to protest against the GJMM youth wing attack on the Kurseong police station, torching of the Kurseong GNLF MLA's residence and ransacking of other properties on Thursday. Bandh supporters prevented the Siliguri Municipal Corporation mayor, deputy officer and finance officer from entering office. Checking of exam papers in a Siliguri school was also disrupted.
SNS, MIDNAPORE/KOLKATA, 20 FEB: The inspector general (special), Eastern Frontier Rifles, Mr Binoy Kumar Chakraborty, was suspended by the state government late tonight after he publicly attacked the superintendent of police, West Midnapore today, holding the latter responsible for the massacre of 24 EFR jawans by Maoists at Silda camp earlier this week.
In a Press conference at the EFR headquarters at Salua, Mr Chakraborty said the superintendent of police, West Midnapore, Mr Manoj Verma, had failed to pay heed to EFR warnings about positional disadvantage of the camp.
Local college boys had hand in Silda Maoist attack : CID
Bengal Newz, Kolkata, 20 February : Nisith and Sishir Hembram, students of a local college, were reportedly involved in Monday’s Maoist attack on the Eastern Frontier Rifles camp that resulted in the death of 25 people.
The West Bengal Police’s Criminal Investigation Department has drawn up a list of 15 Maoists of the Lalgarh area in West Midnapore, for allegedly carrying out the attack. The list includes a woman, Raimoni Soren, who had also allegedly taken part in the Silda attack. “They (the Hembrams) are brothers and are undergraduate students,” claimed a CID official on condition of anonymity. He said one of their classmates had identified them at the spot. The brothers came from Orma, about 25 km away from Silda.
In October 2009, another teenager, Saonta, reportedly took part in the attack on a police station at Sankrail, also in West Midnapore district, and abduction of station chief Atindranath Datta.
Big holes in Bengal’s security establishment
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| One of the two improvised explosive devices left behind by the Maoists five days back still lies in front of the EFR camp. (Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya) |
TT, Calcutta, Feb. 20: The massacre at Shilda and the resultant mudslinging within Bengal’s security establishment have thrown up an embarrassing mix of mistakes and a potentially incendiary portend.
The mistakes: intelligence that officers do not find actionable, top officers feuding in public as well as passing the buck on juniors and tactical field decisions being altered to suit political expediency.
The portend: fishing in troubled waters by the outfit spearheading the Gorkhaland demand.
State home secretary Ardhendu Sen today sought to put the lid on the “differences’’ he had with director- general of police Bhupinder Singh on whether there was prior intelligence input on the Maoist mobilisation in Shilda.
Reacting to Singh’s assertion yesterday that he did not have any intelligence input on a build-up, Sen said: “Everything will come out after the probe. I had a talk with the DG today. He told me that the media was quoting him out of context and creating controversies. I agree.”
Sen had earlier this week said that three hours before the attack, he had an intelligence input that a Maoist build-up was taking place near Shilda and the DGP was also aware of this, something Singh has disputed.
A senior police officer said such a dispute was “irrelevant” because there was no intelligence report on an attack on the camp — a point Sen had also stressed.
“The DGP appears to be correct because the information the intelligence branch provides is vague. In one sheet of paper, there will be 10 such ‘build-ups’ mentioned, which keep coming several times a week,” the officer said.
“It will be virtually impossible to go chasing after all such build-ups. First, the information provided are all one-liners and not detailed. Second, we don’t have the necessary manpower.”
Singh had said he was not “mad” that he would sit on a piece of information that stated there would be an attack on a camp. His contention: why didn’t the agency directly convey the alert to the Shilda camp, instead of giving it the same urgency as a “leave application”?
As the home secretary played down differences at Writers’, another discordant note was struck in West Midnapore, the theatre of the Maoist strike.
Benoy Chakraborty, special IG of the Eastern Frontier Rifles, said: “I had repeatedly told the superintendent of police (Manoj Verma) about the poor infrastructure at the camp and the need to shift it to a better place. But he paid no heed…”
A section of police officers said the government should not have bowed to the demands of the local CPM which had insisted that the camp be set up near a bustling market as it would then be close to the party office.
After a series of attacks on CPM leaders by the Maoists, the party had insisted over two years ago that the EFR camp be shifted from a safer site in an irrigation department bungalow on the outskirts of Shilda to the primary health centre that was attacked on Monday. The government succumbed to the pressure.
“The Maoists intended to annihilate us so we wanted the police to move closer to the party office,” said Amiya Sengupta, the CPM zonal committee secretary of Binpur II.
Citizens facing threat to life are entitled to police protection but to locate a camp in the middle of a civilian populace is self-defeating.
The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha — the EFR personnel are mostly drawn from the hills — has injected an ominous element to this cocktail of fiascos.
The Morcha has said the “Gorkhas lay down their lives for Bengal, but their plea for statehood remains unheard”.
Morcha leaders had said the only compensation for the policemen’s deaths was Gorkhaland.
“Let us hope that the Gorkha policemen don’t get incited,” an officer said.
EFR IG suspended
SNS, MIDNAPORE/KOLKATA, 20 FEB: The inspector general (special), Eastern Frontier Rifles, Mr Binoy Kumar Chakraborty, was suspended by the state government late tonight after he publicly attacked the superintendent of police, West Midnapore today, holding the latter responsible for the massacre of 24 EFR jawans by Maoists at Silda camp earlier this week.
“We repeatedly asked Mr Verma to shift the camp at Silda due to its locational disadvantage of the EFR camp at Silda but he never took any steps”, said Mr Chakraborty, his face wrapped with black cloth. Mr Chakraborty also alleged that even the state administration was aware of the vulnerability of the camp at Silda adding that the jawans could not fire back effectively because of the locational disadvantage but even then five jawans had fought back killing five Maoists. He added: “The district police do not coordinate with the EFR. We are kept in the dark about the deployment of the EFR jawans.”
The IG also said the jawans have been totally “misused” and “utterly ignored” by the state government. “Over the years, the basic needs of the personnel were overlooked, Rather they were inhumanly treated by the authorities,” he added.
While Mr Verma refused to comment on the allegations, the state home department in a swift response to Mr Chakraborty’s outburst, issued orders placing him under suspension.
Earlier today, state home secretary, Mr Ardhendu Sen clarified on the reported differences between him and state DGP Mr Bhupinder Singh over the issue of Intelligence inputs prior to the Silda attack, “The DGP told me he has been quoted out of context to create a controversy. I told him that he should not think that just because we are fighting the Maoists the media will leave us alone,” Mr Sen said. “Whether there was any input or not it will be clear from the inquiry,” he said.
Asked about the meeting of three states called by the Union home minister, Mr Sen said they have no such official information. He said joint operations will continue against the Maoists.
The IG also said the jawans have been totally “misused” and “utterly ignored” by the state government. “Over the years, the basic needs of the personnel were overlooked, Rather they were inhumanly treated by the authorities,” he added.
While Mr Verma refused to comment on the allegations, the state home department in a swift response to Mr Chakraborty’s outburst, issued orders placing him under suspension.
Earlier today, state home secretary, Mr Ardhendu Sen clarified on the reported differences between him and state DGP Mr Bhupinder Singh over the issue of Intelligence inputs prior to the Silda attack, “The DGP told me he has been quoted out of context to create a controversy. I told him that he should not think that just because we are fighting the Maoists the media will leave us alone,” Mr Sen said. “Whether there was any input or not it will be clear from the inquiry,” he said.
Asked about the meeting of three states called by the Union home minister, Mr Sen said they have no such official information. He said joint operations will continue against the Maoists.
Arrest spectre on Delhi publisher - Shillong cops to move court for warrant
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 TT, Shillong, Feb. 20: Meghalaya police will obtain an arrest warrant from the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Shillong, on Monday before proceeding to pick up the owner of Skyline Publishers in Delhi for publishing pictures of Jesus Christ with a cigarette and beer can in textbooks for junior classes.
The decision was taken on a day the publication house offered a “public apology” and regretted the “gross mistake” that appeared in the cursive writing books.
The superintendent of police, East Khasi Hills, A.R. Mawthoh, told this correspondent today that the police would move the CJM court here on Monday for a warrant to arrest the owner of Skyline Publishers.
“The owner will be arrested for committing the offence under 295(A) of the IPC which is ‘deliberate and malicious act intended to hurt the religious feeling of any class by insulting its religion’ or religious beliefs,” Mawthoh said.
He said as the police had already registered the case under Section 295(A) IPC after St Joseph’s School had filed an FIR, criminal proceedings would be taken against the owner.
According to Mawthoh, the maximum punishment for the offence, which is non-bailable, will be three years’ imprisonment with or without fine.
The SP said after obtaining the warrant of arrest from the court here, a team of police officials would leave for Delhi to get the custody of the owner of the publication house. Subsequently, he would be brought here, Mawthoh added.
The publisher today apologised to the Christian fraternity and leaders of the community for hurting their sentiments and also to the students, the Meghalaya government and the NGOs in the state.
According to the police, even if Skyline Publishers tendered an apology for hurting the religious sentiments of the people, the case against the publisher will proceed and it will be up to the court to take a final decision.
Steps have been taken to withdraw the books from places where they had been sent, the publisher said, adding that action had been taken against those involved in the production of these books.
Agencies with inputs from Sify news: Meanwhile 1 died during a clash in Batala of Punjab during a clash among Hindus and Christians. Some christians youth came into the street protesting the publication of an image of Jesus with a beer bottle and cigarette in a cursive habdwriting book of Class of primary school.
An indefinite curfew was imposed in this Punjab town Saturday after tension prevailed following the publication of a poster depicting Jesus Christ in an objectionable manner. Clashes also broke out as some members of the Christian community forced shopkeepers to down shutters. One christian youth died and several motor cycles were torched during the clash.
The police intervened when they tried to burn a few buildings, curfew was imposed after the clash.
Batala, 40 km from Amritsar, has a sizeable Christian population and several leading schools and other institutions have been run by the community for the past several decades.
The curfew will continue till further orders, officials said here.
Punjab police chief P S Gill said a case had been registered against the printer of the objectionable poster.
"The printing press in which the controversial poster was printed had been sealed and a case has been registered against the accused at the police station in Jalandhar's Division No. 4.
"Additional forces have been sent to sensitive areas to restore the confidence of the people,'"Gill said in Chandigarh, 250 km from here.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the state home minister, condemned the act and said no one would be allowed to disturb the peace of the state.
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