By IANS
Kolkata : Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) joint director Arun Kumar, heading the probe into the March 14 police firing in Nandigram region of West Bengal’s East Midnapore district, visited several trouble-torn areas Wednesday and interacted with violence-scarred villagers.
Kumar went to Tekhali, Khejuri Bazaar, Satengabari, Adhikari Para, and Sonachura villages of the district and met the family members of those killed in the police firing. He also talked to district officials.
At least 14 people were killed and more than a 100 were injured in police firing on March 14, while they were protesting against the proposed government acquisition of farmlands for the setting up of a special economic zone (SEZ).
The CBI joint director Tuesday visited Bhangabera and Tekhali, from where the police had opened fire, and met units of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camping at the Nandigram College ground.
CBI investigating officials spoke to villagers from the worst affected pockets of Southkhali, Jalpai and Sonachura in Nandigram.
An 18-member team of Left Front legislators, led by Mohammad Masih, also visited Nandigram Wednesday to take stock of the situation in the strife-torn area.
The team will submit a report to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and West Bengal Legislative Assembly Speaker Hasim Abdul Halim.
The group comprises three women legislators and representatives from Left Front allies – the Forward Bloc (FB), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Communist Party of India (CPI) – who have been vocal against the violence in Nandigram.
The team visited Satengabari, Adhikari para, and Sonachura, all former strongholds of the Trinamool Congress-backed Bhumi Uchched Protirodh Committee (BUPC).
After visiting the areas, the team met the block development officer (BDO) and later went to Tamluk, the East Midnapore district headquarter, to confer with the district administration.
Over 35 people have been killed since January in Nandigram, about 150 km from here, which witnessed violence over a proposed SEZ the West Bengal government wanted to set up on farmland. The decision, later scrapped, sparked a turf war between the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a Trinamool Congress-backed group of local villagers.