WB: Maoists kill 2 PCPA members, kidnap IB officer

Maoists have shot dead two members of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities backed by it in West Midnapore district and kidnapped an Intelligence Branch Inspector and a NGO worker from Purulia district in West Bengal, police said.

The bodies of PCPA members Biswanath Mahato and Pradip Mahato were found beside a pond at Nandalalpur in Jhargram, Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation) Mukesh Kumar said.

"According to initial investigations, they were killed by Maoists," Kumar said. Top district police sources said the two were killed over differences with Maoists on division of money extorted from local businessmen.

There have been earlier instances of PCPA members being killed by Maoists over such issues, sources said. In Purulia district, the Maoists kidnapped an Intelligence Branch officer and a NGO worker.

The IB inspector, Partha Biswas, and NGO worker Samarjit Basu were kidnapped four kilometres west of Barabhum at 11:58 pm on Friday night by Maoists, IB sources said.

"Biswas was not on duty and on leave when he went to Purulia for a purely personal reason," Additional Director General of Police Banibrata Basu said. "We have information that he runs a NGO there and went to work for it," Basu said.

Director General of Police Naparajita Mukherjee said, "I have heard about the incident and Maoists have sent feelers to the district police administration."

Superintendent of Police Rajesh Jadav said, "We are not sure about the activities of these persons as they are not part of the district police."

Maoist sources said that the two were in their custody, but did not state any condition for their release.

Biswas is a resident of Naihati in North 24 Parganas district and Basu of Bandel in Hooghly district. Atindranath Dutta, the officer-in-charge of Sankrail police station in West Midnapore district, was released unharmed on November 4 last year after being kidnapped by Maoists two days earlier.

On October 6 last year, Maoists had beheaded Jharkhand police inspector Francis Induwar, who was abducted by them a week earlier.