New grave found in Nandigram

Another freshly dug grave was unearthed in Nandigram on Monday. The grave was found near the former Bhumi Uchched Paratirodh Committee stronghold of Maheshpur.

The discovery comes days after five graves were found at Bidyapit village in Khejuri and bones in the Talpati canal. “We found a new grave at Parulbari village near Maheshpur on Monday after the locals complained of a bad smell emanating from the place.

The police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have cordoned off the area,” Superintendent of Police, Midnapore (East), Satyeswar Panda said. The police described the grave as freshly dug. “We cannot dig it (to exhume the bodies) unless we get court orders, for which we have applied,” Panda said.

Sources said the grave might be dug on Tuesday in presence of the magistrate. “If we recover anything we will then send it for forensic examination,” he said.

“We suspect that these bodies might be those of outsiders who had taken part in the Nandigram battle. Political parties are jumping to claim these bodies,” a senior police officer said.

The new grave was found in an area owned by Amrita Das. “He cultivates paddy on his land but the place where the grave was discovered has not been cultivated for months,” the officer said.

Das, who was questioned by police, however, gave conflicting statements on why he didn’t cultivated paddy in that portion of his land. “Initially, he said that he was not in the village for the past few months and was unaware of the persons who had cultivated on his land.

When pressed further, he said that portion of the land was not good for cultivation of paddy so he used to ignore it,” an officer investigating the case said. The police also discovered some flesh and long hair about 100 metres from the grave.