Purulia case: CPI-M demands judicial probe

The Communist Party of India-Marxist on Friday demanded a judicial probe into the Purulia arms drop case alleging "gross negligence" of the then central government in handling the same which was meant to destabilise the the Jyoti Basu government in West Bengal.

The party also demanded that former member of parliament Pappu Yadav should be interrogated as accused Kim Davy has told a news channel that he had helped him escape from the country.

"We are not pointing fingers at anyone in the government. But the then Central government had been grossly negligent in dealing with the information provided by British intelligence agencies about arms dropping," party General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here.

 "There has to be an inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court into the circumstances of the arms drop in Purulia and to uncover the network responsible," he said.

 All investigations at that time showed that this was a conspiracy which had international ramifications and an internal dimension. It was a political game to destabilise the Left Front government, he alleged.

Karat said the government should explain why no action was taken to stop arms dropping after the British intelligence had informed them and this was confirmed by Peter Bleach who was sentenced in the case.

He said Purulia arms drop was one of the "most serious  instances" of an assault on the country's sovereignty and the investigations and the court trial had proved that the arms were meant for the Ananda Marg which was planning to use it to "foment violence to destabilise" the Left Front government.

"The revelations by Niels Christian Nielsen alias Kim Davy, who is still absconding, and Peter Bleach who was sentenced in the case, have raised new questions," he said. "Kim Davy has given specific details of how he had escaped from the Mumbai airport and   reached Nepal.

He has named Pappu Yadav as the person who assisted him. It should be noted that the same Pappu Yadav is in jail serving a life sentence for the murder of CPI-M member of legislative assembly Ajit  Sarkar," he said.

"The existence of the Left Front government in West Bengal has been anathema for many domestic and international forces. At present too, the spectre of violence is being used to destabilise the Left Front government.

"Even the Union Home Minister had recently talked of the killing fields in Bengal and blamed CPI-M for it. On the other hand, the Maoist violence is being aided and supported by Trinamool Congress which is part of the Congress-led government at the Centre," he said.