Balurghat, Sept. 19: A letter written by “Naxals” asking traders to reduce the prices of fish and chicken reached Buniadpur Bysabsayi Samiti yesterday.

The letter in Bengali said fish was not available in the markets of Buniadpur as they were being sent to Raiganj in North Dinajpur and Malda, both 50km away. The sender said if the prices were not reduced, Buniadpur market would be blown up by an “Australian grenade”.

The local traders have lodged a police complaint.

“Around 7pm yesterday, we got an envelope and there was a letter inside it. The letter asked fish and poultry traders to bring down the prices immediately, otherwise an Australian grenade would be thrown here. The letter mentions Naxal as the sender. We contacted the local police immediately,” said Ranjit Mandal, the president of Buniadpur Byabsayi Samiti.

In the Buniadpur market, katla and rui fish weighing more than 1kg are sold above Rs 250 a kg. The rate goes up with the increase in the size of the fish.

The tangra fish is sold between Rs 500 and 600 a kg. Pabda, tinkanta and raikhar are sold around Rs 350-400 a kg and magur was Rs 800 per kg a couple of months back.

“Every night, many vehicles loaded with fish are sent to Raiganj, Malda, Falakata, Siliguri, Kishanganj and other places. Traders are not interested in selling tangra, katla, pabda and magur here,” said Aditya Chaudhury, a teacher in Buniadpur, 50km from here.

Chicken costs Rs 150-200 a kg in the Buniadpur market.

“It seems someone has played a prank. Generally, Naxals write in red ink and the writing is mature. In this case, the handwriting is very childish. We have started an investigation,” said Tapan Bhattacharya, the inspector in charge of Banshihari police station.