Three Maoists arrested in West Bengal

KOLKATA - Three suspected Maoists were arrested and a local Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) worker was shot at in two separate incidents in West Bengal’s Bankura and West Midnapore districts Sunday, police said.

Three suspected Maoists were arrested from Bankura district’s Barikul area early Sunday in a search operation conducted by joint forces in the area. They were arrested from Barikul’s 1 Baro mile jungle area.

They were produced in the Khatra additional chief judicial magistrate’s court and remanded to jail custody for 14 days.

“We have arrested three Maoists during joint forces search operation from Barikul’s Baro mile jungles,” Bankura police chief Pranav Kumar said.

In another incident in West Midnapore district’s Bhairabpur area, local CPI-M leader Bidyut Pandey received bullet injuries after suspected Maoists attacked his house and shot him from a close range.

The Maoists pumped four bullets in his body - three in the chest and one in the hand. He was admitted to a local hospital for treatment but was transferred to a government hospital in Kolkata after his condition deteriorated, CPI-M sources said.

Confirming the incident, West Midnapore’s Superintendent of Police Manoj Verma said Pandey was attacked by suspected Maoists and has been admitted in hospital.

The Maoists are active in three western districts of the state- Purulia, West Midnapore, Bankura.