Purulia (WB): Three Forward Bloc activists were shot dead by armed Maoists in Purulia district, police said Monday.
A group of about 50 Maoists, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided Chirogora village late last night and dragged out the three activists from their houses to a distance and shot them dead, district SP Rajesh Jadav told PTI.
The deceased were identified as Leru Majhi, Dasrath Majhi, and Choto Majhi, he said. The attackers left some leaflets in the area claiming that they were killed as they were "police spies".
Joint forces and a police team rushed to the village and have started combing operations, the SP said.
Durga puja in Maoist areas
The Maoist strongholds of Lalgarh, Jhargram and its adjacent areas in West Midnapore district are awaiting the advent of Goddess Durga with hope, as a large number of people who were forced to flee their homes have returned.
In comparison to last year when 50 per cent of the pujas were not held because of the uncertainty and violence, over 100 pandals have sprung up this time to celebrate the four days that the ten-armed goddess spends with her four children on earth.
The one at Dharampur, near Lalgarh, which organises one of the largest pujas was a lacklustre affair last year because the main organiser, CPI(M) strongman, Anuj Pandey, had to flee his palatial home which was ransacked and torched by Maoists.
"This year he is back and we are hoping that it will be a grand affair again," said a villager of Dharampur.
"Last year the puja was organised somehow because most villagers had fled. This year the situation has changed because the tension of Maoist violence has subsided and the people have returned home," Kartik Dey of Belatikri village who is sculpting the image, said.
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