By IANS,
Kolkata : Former Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Lok Sabha member Laxman Seth and two of his associates were arrested in Mumbai Saturday in connection with the violent incidents in Nandigram in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district in 2007, police here said.
The arrests were made by a team of officials from the Crime Investigation Department(CID), who had been sent to Chembur in Mumbai after a tip-off that Seth and his comrades were hiding there. The three were nabbed from a guest house, Shyam Nivas.
“Seth and two other CPI-M leaders Ashok Guriya and Amiya Sahoo were arrested from Mumbai today (Saturday). We are trying to produce them in court and seek transit remand for bringing them to West Bengal,” state Criminal Investigation Department Deputy Inspector General (Operations) K. Jayaraman told IANS.
Later in the day, the accused were produced before the court of Additional Chief Magistrate, Kurla. “The transit remand has been allowed and they have to be produced before a lower court in Haldia (of East Midnapore district) by March 22,” Jayaraman said.
With this, 20 persons have been arrested in the case so far.
The case relates to the disappearance of seven villagers after a clash between the CPI-M and Trinamool Congress in November 2007.
Seth, a former MP of Tamluk – which includes Nandigram – and his two comrades are among the 88 persons named in the charge sheet filed Jan 30 in relation to the death of six villagers and disappearance of seven others who had gone missing after armed clashes in Nandigram in November 2007.
“There are various charges against the three including murder, conspiracy, rioting, cheating, forgery and also tampering of evidence. They have also been charged under the Arms Act,” Jayaraman told mediapersons.
Angry over the arrests, the CPI-M said its leaders were being framed by the West Bengal government of chief minister Mamata Banerjee in false cases and promised to provide legal help to the three.
CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose said the trio will be provided legal assistance.
“Law will take its own course. There are a lot of cooked up cases. The nature of this case will be determined through the legal process. We will definitely provide legal help,” he said.