By IANS
Kolkata : The mystery surrounding the five burial mounds found near Nandigram deepened further with the recovery of some charred bones packed in boxes from the West Bengal area Thursday.
The grave-like structures were dug up on the side of a road at Khejuri in the presence of Judicial Magistrate J.P. Singh, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) DIG Alok Raj, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Joint Director Arun Kumar and senior district and police officials.
“We will send the skeletal remains to the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory to ascertain the age of the bones. It will also be sent for DNA tests. A case will also be lodged at the Khejuri Police Station,” West Bengal Inspector General of Police Raj Kanojia told IANS.
CRPF Deputy Inspector General Alok Raj said it could not be ascertained immediately whether the bones recovered Thursday from the graves had been buried recently.
“Normally it takes around five to six months for bones to decompose, but in this case as charred bones have been recovered, it is difficult to ascertain whether they were buried recently. Burnt wood has also been found inside all the burial mounds, which indicates the bodies were first burnt and then buried,” Raj told IANS.
The skeletal remains were packed into five separate boxes. The boxes will be kept at the Khejuri Police Station Thursday night, senior officials said.
Though the recovery of the bones created a flutter among political parties, the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) dubbed it as “something very natural”.
“These things happen in villages due to shortage of wood. Bodies which cannot be fully cremated due to scarcity of wood are generally buried in the field. This is something one should not worry about,” CPI-M central committee member Shyamal Chakraborty said.
However, the opposition Trinamul Congress claimed the skeletal remains belonged to party supporters who were killed by CPI-M men and later their bodies disposed of.
Trinamul Congress Nandigram legislator Subhendu Adhikari said: “It is a lie that wood is not available in the district. Actually, the skeletal parts belong to our party workers who were killed by CPI-M men.”
“We have a list of at least 35 people who are missing from Nandigram. The CBI and CRPF should make inquiries,” he said.
A CRPF team had stumbled upon the five burial mounds on the side of a road at Khejuri near Nandigram Wednesday.
The team was on routine patrolling when some women came to them and said the bodies of those killed in a blast at CPI-M party office in Sherkhan Chowk Oct 27 have been buried on the side of a road. Three CPI-M activists were reportedly killed and five injured in an explosion at the party office.
Nadigram, located about 150 km from Kolkata in East Midnapore district, flared up in January over proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ), including a chemical hub – a plan that was scrapped by the state government later in the face of stiff resistance.
Thirty-five people have died in Nandigram violence since January with a fresh bout of violence unleashed in November after the CPI-M cadres allegedly recaptured their lost bases in the area by launching a massive onslaught on the rival anti-land acquisition Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC).