From: bond@jupiter.sun.csd.unb.ca (Girish)
Subject: CPI(M) cadres poison village ponds
Organization: University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 18:07:19 GMT
Expires: Thu, 25 Mar 1993 04:00:00 GMT



    [To Amnesty International guys: please take note of this news item!]

    On the terrorist activities of the CPI(M) cadres......

    [Taken from the  Metropolitan  section  of  "The  Telegraph",  Sunday,
    November 29, 1992]

    CPI(M) Cadres poison village ponds
    """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         Sonarpur (South 24-Paraganas), Nov.  28:  CPI(M)  activists  have
    unleashed  a reign of terror in the rural belt here in a desperate bid
    to take revenge on those who had attended the Congress  rally  at  the
    Brigade Parade Ground on Wednesday.

         Two sleepy villages, Nabagram and Katipota, in the  outskirts  of
    Sonarpur,  are  witness  to  the  ruling party's atrocities. Panic has
    gripped the villagers since Wednesday. The male members  of  the  vil-
    lages  have  fled  their homes, while the women folk have been passing
    sleepless nights.

    .....A visibly agitated Ms Mamata Banerjee, who visited the  villages,
    alleged  that  the  CPI(M)  cadres  had been terrorising people at the
    instance of the local party MLA, Mr Bhadreswar Mandal.....

    .....Earlier, distraught womenfolk of the village flocked to Ms Baner-
    jee  on  her  arrival  at  Nabagram, which wore a deserted look in the
    absence of its menfolk. Many broke down while narrating their woes  to
    the  Union  Minister  and  made fervent appeals to "save them from the
    clutches of the CPI(M) cadres."

         Mrs Mala Chakraborty told how her husband was harrassed and heck-
    led  by  the  CPI(M) cadres on Thursday, the day after the Congress(I)
    rally. Mr Chakraborty is now undergoing treatment at the Bangur Hospi-
    tal.  Many  villagers complained that the cadres had poisoned the vil-
    lage ponds as a punishment for their having attended Congress rally.

         Senventeen-year-old Archana Das had a more harrowing tale to nar-
    rate.   "CPI(M) cadres picked up my two brothers from home for attend-
    ing the rally," she told with tears in her eyes. "I don't know whether
    they will come back once again."

         In the  adjoining  Katipota  village,  CPI(M)  cadres  have  been
    allegedly threatening young girls for attending the November 25 rally.
    "They have told me that they will take me elsewhere  and  molest  me,"
    14-year-old  Panchi  Mandal said. Panchi's sister, Rakhi, a student of
    class eight, was apprehensive of  meeting  the  same  fate.  "Mamatadi
    aamader  bachan,"  she  said, clasping Ms Banerjee's feet, crying pro-
    fusely.

         That the CPI(M) cadres have gone  on  rampage  a  day  after  the
    Cong(I)  rally  was  confirmed  by  senior police officials. Mr Kollol
    Guin, deputy superitendent of  police  told  this  correspondent  that
    three CPI(M) workers had been arrested in this connection......
    ______________________________________________________________________

    Another news item from the same newspaper:

    Police force pavement dwellers to attend rally
    """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
         Calcutta, Nov. 28: Besides using Citu  to  armtwist  hawkers  and
    traders into attending tommorrow's rally, the CPI(M) is also roping in
    the police to force pavement dwellers  and  other  hapless  people  at
    their mercy to turn up.....

    .....At the Manicktala police station, an official said: "It is  ridi-
    culous walking upto pavement dwellers and threatening them to join the
    rally.  Besides, we feel bad for these people whom we have to threaten
    in order to keep our jobs.".....