(From top) Aben, Goutam and Buddhadeb in court

Midnapore/Calcutta, Nov. 4: Three of the seven people arrested in connection with Sunday’s blast in West Midnapore are school-going teenagers, though none is a minor.

One of them shares his first name with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who crossed the site 15 minutes before the blast.

Six were arrested yesterday, and the seventh today from West Midnapore’s Lalgarh area. All the accused have been charged with waging war against the state, attempt to murder, destroying government property and illegally stocking and using explosives. They have been remanded in police custody till November 12.

 

The government today served show-cause notices on two police officers in West Midnapore — deputy superintendent (traffic) Labanya Roy and the deputy superintendent of the district intelligence branch, Ambar Farooq. “Both have been show-caused for dereliction of duty... (which brings) departmental action,” inspector-general (law and order) Raj Kanojia said.

Five of the seven accused are from Maoist hub Lalgarh. They are Aben Murmu, 19, a Class VII student; Buddhadeb Patra, 18, Class VIII; Goutam Patra, 18, Class IX — all from the village of Banshber — Gopal Karanga, 37, of Dharampur, and Dipak Pratihar, 37, of Kantapahari.

Sahadeb Mahato, 37, and Laxmiram Murmu, 35, are from Salboni. They had been arrested in 2006 in connection with another Maoist blast and were out on bail.

Public prosecutor Ardhendu Saha claimed that all seven had confessed. “The teenagers helped the Maoists take the electrical wire through a paddy field and helped them escape. Others were at meetings where action squad members planned the blast. Some from Lalgarh gave them shelter.”

Uttam Majhi, the lawyer for the seven, said the teenagers were returning from a soiree at midnight when they were detained.