Face of Bhangar movement arrested from Odisha hospital

BHUBANESWAR/KOLKATA: A police team from Baruipur and Bhubaneswar on Thursday arrested CPI-ML (Red Star) leader Alik Chakrabarty, who was the face of the anti-power grid movement at Machhibhanga in Bhangar, from a private hospital in Bhubaneshwar. Chakrabarty, police claimed, was charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Explosives Act, apart from other charges, like murder and arson.


He is likely to be produced in a Bhubaneshwar court today.

Bhubaneshwar police commissioner Y B Khurania said Chakrabarty was wanted in over 70 cases, including murder in Bengal. “We were informed about his movement by the Bengal police. Following a tipoff that he would visit Bhubaneswar for treatment, Bengal police personnel reached here in the morning,” Khurania told TOI. Chakrabarty, along with another man, was at Kalinga Hospital, asking about a gastroenterologist. Subsequently, plainclothed cops rounded him up from in front of a tea stall near the hospital around 4.15pm. The other man was allowed to go.

Under watch of Baruipur police for a while, Chakrabarty who had been suffering from chronic gastro-intestinal disorders, had visited doctors in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Bhubaneswar. “Our team had been following him. Many cases are pending against him,” Baruipur police superintendent Arijit Sinha said. Police said Chakrabarty had gone to Hyderabad to consult a doctor and reached Bhubaneswar on Wednesday; there, he put up at an acquaintance’s house at Maitree Vihar.

Mirza Hassan, a leader of Jomi, Jibika, Bastutantra O Paribesh Raksha Committee, which spearheaded the movement at Bhangar, claimed Chakrabarty left Kolkata eight days ago for treatment. “He was on treatment on a regular basis and we never asked about his whereabouts. I spoke to him a few days ago over phone,” said Hassan.

Pradip Sigh Thakur, another CPI-ML (Red Star) leader, demanded his treatment in police custody. “The police arrested him under false charges when he went to see a doctor,” Thakur said in a press statement. Senior CPM leader Shamik Lahiri also condemned the arrest. Pointing out the Bhangar issue could be resolved only through dialogues, Left Front chairman Biman Bose condemned the police, saying Chakrabarty was denied the right to avail treatment. He demanded withdrawal of all the “false charges” and wanted the government to make arrangements for his treatment.

Immediately after his arrest, Bhangar erupted on Thursday night, with locals blocking Haroa Road. Leftist outfits will organise rallies there on Friday.

The development coincided with Calcutta HC on Thursday granting bail to three persons arrested for violence during the Bhangar panchayat polls. Among them, Sankar Das is a CPIML (Red Star) member and Amitabha Bhattacharya a Mazdoor Kranti Parishad member.



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