'CPI-M supporters open fire in Nandigram again'

Kolkata, Nov 24 - Two weeks after the violent clashes in West Bengal's Nandigram, the anti-land acquisition group Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) alleged fresh incidents of firing by ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) cadres in the trouble-torn area.The villagers alleged that CPI-M men fired Friday evening from Dhalipara and Jehanabad in Khejuri, a CPI-M stronghold, and from a communist camp located at Ranichak.

The party cadres opened fire at a school in Ranichak to scare off villagers who had returned to their homes from relief camps, local reports said.The fresh firing reportedly took place a couple of hours after Central Reserve Police Force personnel patrolled the area. There were no reports of any injuries.The Trinamool Congress-backed BUPC alleged the firing was aimed at stopping them from regrouping. 'The situation is peaceful now. People have started returning to their homes.

The process will take some time as they (the people) have lost everything in the recent violence,' an official of the Nandigram police station told IANS.Meanwhile, activist Medha Patkar also visited the relief camps in Nandigram and spoke to victims there. Patkar said she would tour the violence-hit areas.

The state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) team has brought three suspected Maoists, who were arrested from Sagar Island in South 24-Parganas district, to the local police station for interrogation. Police said one of them is Radheyshyam, a resident of Sonachura.Violence in Nandigram has claimed at least 34 lives since January this year over the government's move to acquire land for a special economic zone. Though the proposal was scrapped, a turf battle continues between the CPI-M and BUPC in the area, leading to violent clashes.

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