New Delhi: After an uneasy calm for a few weeks, Nandigram again erupted as fresh clashes broke out between CPM supporters and the Bhumi Raksha Committee in which three people have been injured.
Despite a heavy police presence, firing continued for a long time between the groups. Sporadic clashes between rival groups have continued despite the state government’s decision against the setting up of a chemical hub in the area in the face of protests from a section of the people there.
On Sunday, gunmen shot dead a 65-year-old woman and injured a child.
Villagers said masked attackers entered Simulkundu village after crossing the Bhangabhera canal through the Tekhali bridge – the scene of the March 14 bloodbath. They stormed into the victim’s hut as she slept and pumped five bullets into her at point-blank range. No one else was present in the house at the time.
Another band of masked gunmen entered Gokulnagar village and began firing indiscriminately.
The incident comes as a major setback to the local authorities’ attempts to restore normality in a region that had been affected by intermittent violence over the past few months.
There have been attempts over the past few weeks to arrive at an initiative for peace by bringing local leaders of the different political parties together.
A large number of people, largely supporters of the Left parties who had to abandon their homes in the Nandigram area and seek shelter in relief camps in the wake of the past hostilities, are yet to return.
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