Bengal intellectuals visit Lalgarh, talk to villagers

KOLKATA - A section of intellectuals aligned to the Trinamool Congress Tuesday visited West Bengal’s Netai village near the Maoist stronghold of Lalgarh and described last week’s killing of seven villagers as “barbaric”.

Trinamool bigwigs, including Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Partha Chattopadhyay, accompanied the group of intellectuals to the Nitai village in West Midnapore district.

Painters, sculptors, singers, actors and theatre personalities of Kolkata met relatives of the victims and listened to their harrowing tales. They also visited the exact spot where the incident occurred Friday.

“This incident is barbaric and uncivilised. I am at a loss for words in condemning this incident,” said Bratya Basu, a theatre personality and actor.

“This incident is proof of the presence of Harmad (bandit) camps in this area,” said Basu.

Theatre activist Shaoli Mitra, painter Shuvaprasana and poet Joy Goswami were also among those who visited the Nitai village.

At least seven people were shot dead and 17 others were wounded near a Maoist hub in West Midnapore district Friday, prompting union Home Minister P. Chidambaram to summon Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to New Delhi.

However, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Biman Bose took a dig at the intellectuals.

“It is not a visit by only intellectuals. It is a visit by Trinamool’s intellectuals accompanied by Trinamool leaders,” said Bose.

These intellectuals had last week taken out a procession and blocked a main busy road in the city to protest the seven villagers’ killings.