KPP leader arrested

Statesman News Service

MALDA, May 30: Senior Kamtapur People’s Party (KPP) leader Mr Subhas Burman and a farmer, Kokil Burman, were arrested last night on charges of maintaining links with Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants. Police also recovered a China-made AK-56 rifle, 84 cartridges, three magazines and a pipegun from the house of Kokil Burman at Katlamari village in Malda’s Habibpur police station area. Police said Mr Burman was involved in the murder of Shekhar, a CPI-M worker and Cooch Behar Zilla Parishad employee. Shekhar was shot dead by KLO militants in January at Pakuahaat with the AK-56 rifle recovered from Kokil Burman’s house last night.Mr Burman was arrested from Pakuahaat in Malda’s Bamongola police station area. Police raided the house of Kokil Burman based on the information provided by Malkhan Singh, another hard core KLO militant, who was arrested on 16 February from Pakuahat. A few days ago, Malda police arrested two KLO militants ~ Illius and Rafique ~ from Habibpur police station area and after interrogating them, came to know that KLO militants used the AK-56 rifle to kill Shekhar. “Illius alias Raju and Rafique were not ready to disclose the exact place where the AK-56 rifle was kept. They told us to approach Malkhan Singh, their leader, who was in Malda jail,”Mr Dilip Kumar Mondal, Malda SP, said. “Yesterday, we brought Malkhan and asked him to reveal the truth in the presence of Illius and Rafique. Based on Malkhan’s statement, we raided the house of Kokil at around 8.30 p.m last night and recovered arms and ammunition from his house,” Mr Mondal said.Kokil Burman is the father-in-law of Falen Burman, a KLO linkman who was arrested with Illius and Rafique recently, the SP said.