Tamluk, Feb. 9: The skeletal remains of two persons were found in a brick kiln owned by two CPM members in East Midnapore last night, prompting the Trinamul Congress to claim the bones were of party-backed protesters who took part in the 2007 Nandigram movement and were missing since.

Ardhendu Maity, the Trinamul MP from Bhagabanpur who led protests in front of the kiln and the police station where the skeletons were taken, said: “We suspect that armed CPM cadres had abducted and killed the 10 Bhoomi Uchhed Pratirodh Committee members and then buried their bodies in different locations.”

Harun Rashid, the chief of the Trinamul-run Bhagabanpur panchayat samiti, said the kiln, owned by CPM members and brothers Sachin and Shyam Pradhan, was located near the border of the two Midnapores and along a road “the cadres frequently used to take during the Nandigram (anti-land acquisition) agitation”. The kiln, at Sheulipur village, is 30km from Nandigram.

The skeletal remains were found last night when workers at the kiln were digging up earth for the factory.

As word spread, around 100 Trinamul supporters led by Maity gathered in front of the kiln and started protesting.

The skeletal remains were taken to the local police station around 12am. Maity and several other Trinamul supporters “kept vigil” through the night outside the police station to “ensure that the CPM does not tamper with or replace the bones”.

Around noon today, the remains were taken to Contai subdivisional hospital for tests in sealed packets. The Trinamul supporters kept vigil outside the hospital.

East Midnapore police chief Ajit Sarkar said tests would be conducted to determine the sex, age and time of death of the two persons. He said DNA tests would be conducted if necessary.