Calcutta, May 18: The erstwhile East Midnapore police chief had removed two outposts from the Tekhali bridge a few days before the CPM’s Nandigram recapture in November 2007 on orders from then director-general A.B. Vohra and another senior officer, the CID told Calcutta High Court today.

In a report submitted to the court, the investigating agency also said former CPM MP Lakshman Seth had assured party workers at a meeting six days before the November 10 recapture that the police outposts would be removed.

The division bench of Justices Asim Kumar Roy and Toufique Uddin was hearing a bail plea moved by Seth. The bench concluded the hearing today but reserved its verdict. According to high court sources, the order on the bail plea may be delivered tomorrow.

“It appears that Seth’s assurance to CPM workers at Kalagechhia on November 4 and the withdrawal of the police outposts are closely linked,” public prosecutor Debashis Roy told the court.

While Vohra and then SP Satya Shankar Panda have retired, the other officer, deputy inspector-general (Midnapore range) N.R. Babu, is now posted as IG (welfare). Six Trinamul supporters went missing after the armed recapture.

Appearing for the CPM leader, advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said his client did not attend any meeting of party workers in Tekhali prior to the incident.

“Seth had attended the governing body meeting of Maharaja Nandakumar College on November 4. This can be proved from the log book of the driver of Seth’s car, which was allotted by the government to the then Tamluk MP,” Bhattacharya said. The college is 70km from Kalagechhia.

Bhattacharya alleged that the prosecution was trying to implicate his client.

A CPM state secretariat member said: “We did not issue any order from Alimuddin Street that Nandigram will have to be recaptured, that police camps should be withdrawn.”

He said villagers had “approached” local CPM leaders saying they “wanted to return to their homes”. “The local CPM leadership may have told the police to remove the police camps after understanding the sentiments of the homeless villagers.”

A Trinamul general secretary said the party had said time and again that Seth was behind the removal of the two police outposts. “This has been confirmed by the CID.”