Kathmandu: Maoists and Police Clash at Start of Three-Day Nationwide Strike

Nepal News, December 20, 2009

Capital city turns into battle field as Maoist protestors clash with police; ambulances, press vehicles also not spared

Many parts of the capital city wore a look of a battle-field on Sunday as activists affiliated with the Unified CPN (Maoist) and their supporters engaged in violent clashes with riot police, resulting in injuries to scores, on the first day of the Maoists’ three-day nationwide strike. The bandh enforcers burnt tyres, vandalized any passing vehicles including those that were parked, and didn’t even spare ambulances and press vehicles.

Places like New Baneshwor, where the Constituent Assembly is located, including Putalisadak, Bagbazaar, Gaushala and few other places saw the most intense clashes between the police and bandh organizers during the Maoist-called strike.

Around two dozens persons, including CA lawmaker Yashoda Subedi and DSP Dilip Chaudhary, were injured in a severe scuffle between the Maoist activists and riot police at New Baneshwor. Most of the injured were Maoist activists with few others being police and bystanders. However, no critical injuries have been reported.

Lalgarh: PCPA Demands Members’ Release, Torches Oil Tankers

Telegraph India, December 18, 2009

Rebel kill & burn spree

Jhargram: Maoists killed three CPM workers, set ablaze oil tankers on a national highway and torched a sponge iron factory and over a dozen vehicles on the first day of a protest against arrests which police denied having made.

Raju Adak and Joyram Bera had allegedly been picked up from Lalgarh on December 6, but no one by those names has been produced in court — in Jhargram or Midnapore — in the past few days. “No such arrest has been made,” West Midnapore police chief Manoj Verma said.

The People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities identified the duo as its leaders and vowed to continue the agitation for their release. Police sources said the duo were “hardcore” Maoists who used the committee as a front. Residents of Lalgarh, they have over 30 murder cases against them. “The Maoists committed today’s murders and engineered the arson,” said Verma.

Bengali People’s March Editor, Publisher Still Held in Jail

P Govindan Kutty, editor of People's March

Express India, December 16, 2009

After lift of ban on Maoist ‘mouthpiece’, editor, publisher held in jail

Kolkata : The ban on the People’s March — a mouthpiece of the Maoists — was lifted by the Press & Registration Appellate Board (PRAB) over three months ago. But two persons arrested in Kolkata have been in jail since owing to their association with the publication. The state police officers plead ignorance about the lifting of the ban.

Swapan Dasgupta, editor of Bengali version of People’s March and Sadananda Singha, its publisher, were picked up from their homes in Garia by the Special Branch of Kolkata Police on October 7. The press in Maniktala Industrial Area was raided and all documents and equipment were seized. They were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for publishing a banned periodical that allegedly contained “seditious matter”, even though the ban had been lifted. And they were remanded in judicial custody.