Krishnagar, July 27: After Bankura and East Midnapore, the shadow of terror is creeping into Nadia district.

Tired of regular threats from Maoists in the past week, over 500 residents of Patradha and its neighbouring villages in Nadia today staged a demonstration when the district magistrate and the superintendent of police came visiting.

The villagers showed DM Rajesh Pandey and SP R. Rajshekharan posters and leaflets in which Maoists have asked them to steer clear of the ruling CPM and its allies.

The rebels have also cautioned them against ploughing government-owned vested land of Patradaha and adjoining Rupdaha village under Dhubulia police station in Nadia, about 140 km from Calcutta.

“We have had sleepless nights for the last one week as Maoists threaten us with dire consequences,” said an elderly Rasul Sheikh.

“The Naxalites have asked us not to plough the vested land as a mark of protest against the CPM’s denial of such land to the poorest of the poor,” he added.

Anisul Haque Biswas, the upapradhan of the Noapara panchayat in Patradha village, said Maoists had threatened bloodshed if 200 bighas of vested land were not properly distributed among the poor. “In panic, many villagers have stopped going to the land for harvesting,” he said.

The threats are clear indication that Maoists are making steady inroads into villages of Nadia, district administrative officials said.

The villagers are also being deprived of basic amenities like drinking water, education, basic healthcare and communication facilities. “We are left with no option but to surrender to the Maoists as policemen hardly come to the area,” said Khubja Bibi.

A retired government employee, requesting anonymity, echoed her. “We repeatedly complain to the local police about Maoist activities. But policemen don’t come to the villages as the condition of roads is so bad that vehicles cannot ply, particularly during monsoon.”

The police admitted the rebels have been taking advantage of villagers’ poverty to consolidated their positions in some areas. “That is why, development of villages in the district is our top priority,” said Pandey.

Rajshekharan said a permanent police camp would be set up in the area. “Go to your field and harvest crops. We will take care of you,” he promised the villagers.