Naxals kill 14-year-old ‘informer’
Maoists killed a 14-year-old school student in Bengal’s West Midnapore district on the suspicion that he was a police informer.
Maoists killed a 14-year-old school student in Bengal’s West Midnapore district on the suspicion that he was a police informer.
The bullet-ridden body of class X student Phulchand Mahato was found lying beside Maoist posters on Tuesday.
This is the first time in Bengal that the extremists have targeted such a young boy. The killing took place barely a month after Maoist collaborators allegedly carried out the Jnaneswari Express derailment in West Midnapore district in which 148 civilians died.
Phulchand’s death was the second blow for the Mahato family. In February 2008, Phulchand’s uncle Subhas Mahato was abducted and killed by Maoists on the suspicion that he was a police informer.
“We have got a poster beside the body of Phulchand Mahato, claiming he was a police informer. We have started an investigation,” said Jhargram SP Praveen Tripathy.
Phulchand, son of Srinath Mahato, lived in Jamirdiha village in West Midnapore. On Monday, villagers got to know the rebels had abducted the boy while he was returning from school, 6 km from his home.
However, Phulchand’s family members did not lodge any complaint with the police.
Ammo haul in Kolkata
The possibility of a Maoist link with the cache of ammunition seized from a Toyota Qualis in Kolkata on Monday deepened, with the Bengal police’s special task force on Tuesday arresting an extremist linkman and three others travelling in the vehicle.
All four hail from Patna.
On Monday, the traffic police had stopped the vehicle carrying 5,000 bullets. Three persons, including the driver, fled but were caught within hours.
Special Task Force chief Rajeev Kumar said, “This huge amount of ammunition was certainly not going to petty criminals. A militant group is likely to be involved.”