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Wednesday, Oct 24, 2007
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Fresh trouble at Nandigram

Special Correspondent

Bhoomi Ucched Pratirodh Committee activists clash with CPI(M) supporters

Panchayat office, public library targeted
Fresh exodus from Takapur area

Kolkata: There was fresh overnight trouble spilling over to Tuesday in the Nandigram area of West Bengal’s Purbo Medinipur district. This was a setback to ongoing efforts by the State authorities to restore normality in a region rocked by intermittent violence since the beginning of the year.

Armed activists of the Trinamool Congress-backed Bhoomi Ucched Pratirodh (Resistance to Land Eviction) Committee (BUPC) clashed with supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Takapur in a sequel to attacks by the former on several houses in the area as well as a local CPI (M) office on Monday evening.

The local panchayat office and a public library were not spared either, according to reports reaching here. Five persons were injured in the incident.

The fresh violence came at a time when preparations were being made for the return home of 250 persons residing in shelters in the Khejuri area ever since they were driven out of Nandigram after violence broke out. There was a fresh exodus from the Takapur area in the wake of the recent trouble, Ashok Guria, a member of the CPI(M)’s district secretariat told The Hindu. He attributed the cause of the trouble to renewed attempts by the BUPC to extend its influence to new areas in the Nandigram area.

The BUPC is still active in Nandigram, months after the State government announced its decision to call off a move to set up a chemical hub in the area in the face of protests against the project by a section of the local people.

Trinamool vows to continue stir

The Trinamool Congress leadership has vowed to continue its agitation in Nandigram until those responsible for the death of 14 persons in police firing and subsequent violence in the area on March 14 were arrested.

Earlier this month — on October 8 — a member of the CPI(M)’s Kolagechia zonal committee had been shot dead allegedly by BUPC activists in the Nandigram area.

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