CPM men free comrade, cops silent

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan. 23: CPI-M supporters snatched a party activist from Kaliachak police station in the district today. The man, Baburam Mandal, was arrested last night on charges of rioting.

Admitting that the incident occurred, the Malda SP, Mr Satyajit Bandyopadhyay, said: “A group of people forced police to release Mandal or admit him to hospital immediately for medical treatment. The police were forced to allow them to admit the 70-year-old accused to a local hospital as the police could not arrange a vehicle at that moment.”

Rejecting rumours that the group of people had entered the police station by force and freed the man from the lock-up, the SP said that the arrested person was sitting outside the lock-up. “He is in hospital under police custody now,” the SP added.

The Malda SP has assigned his deputy to inquire into the matter and sought clarification from the inspector in-charge, Kaliachak police station, as to why they handed over the accused to the group without an escort.

Police arrested Mandal, a CPI-M member from Karari Chandpur village in Alipur I gram panchayat, after a woman had complained that he had assaulted her on Friday.

After today’s incident, Kaliachak police have officially shown that Mandal was admitted to Silampur Health Centre, which is close to the police station, by the police at about 9.30 a.m. But the police may have bungled here too as the block medical officer of health, Dr N Chakraborty, told media that Mandal was admitted to the hospital around 11.30 a.m. “A few persons were accompanying him but no police were present,” the health official said. Some patients of the hospital supported the doctor’s version.

Overwriting was detected in the register slot mentioning the time of admission.

It is being rumoured that police pressed the people who had freed Mandal from police custody to have him hospitalised after news of the incident spread.

CPI-M district secretary Mr Jiban Moitra refused to comment saying he was out of town and would have to verify the facts before commenting on it. However, the Alipur local CPI-M committee leader, Mr Abdul Matin, said: “We went to the police station to get the old man hospitalised as he needs medical attention.”