Pro-Maoist group’s spokesperson sent to police custody

KOLKATA - Manoj Mahato, spokesperson of the pro-Maoist tribal body Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), was Thursday remanded to police custody for seven days by a court in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district.

Mahato was presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s (CJM) court in Midnapore town under tight security in connection with two cases lodged with the Salboni police station.

He was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days by the Jhragram additional chief judicial magistrate court in the same district, said police counsel.

Mahato was presented in the Jhargram court Sep 5, a day after the police announced his arrest during a two-day joint operation in the district.

However, the PCAPA alleged that Mahato had been picked up from his residence at Birkara near Lalgarh Sep 3.

Meanwhile, all the 17 accused so far arrested in May 28 Gyaneshwari Express tragedy, in which 148 people were killed, including prime accused Bapi Mahato, were presented before the Midnapore court and remanded to judicial custody for 30 days.

The Gyaneshwari case was filed in the Jhargram court and hearings of the case were also conducted there.

But, a day after the directive of the Calcutta High Court that the case be transferred to Midnapore CJM court from Jhargram court, all the accused were presented Thursday, said Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) counsel.

The Calcutta High Court Wednesday directed that the case to be transferred following a plea of the CBI.

The investigation agency had pleaded that the case to be transferred to CBI court in Kolkata on the argument that the Maoists menace had rendered it unsafe to transport the accused for hearings to Jhargram court from the Midnapore Central jail.