Buddha turns to Cong as blood spills

The three victims were fathers of suspected assailants belonging to the Congress. CPM activists picked them up from their homes when they failed to trace their sons. The men — all in their sixties — were stabbed to death. This has brought the toll in the past 72 hours in Chopra to eight.

The police have so far arrested over 15 persons, including the local Congress MLA Hamidur Rahaman.

Even before Congress leaders from Kolkata could reach the area, the Chief Minister called up Mitra and said that state Congress leaders should visit the affected area and hold meetings with CPM leaders to put a stop to the killings.

The trouble began last Wednesday when Akbar Ali, a CPM district committee leader, was killed by Congress supporters. A CPM mob then raided a nearby police outpost but three got killed when the police opened fire.

Congress general secretary Pradip Bhattacharya said he had demanded a judicial inquiry into the incident. A Congress team is leaving for Dinajpur tomorrow, he said. The party’s decision regarding the killings would be announced after the visit, he added.

Meanwhile, some of the Left Front partners are blaming the CPM for escalating violence. Kshiti Goswami of the RSP said the CPM leadership was now unable to control its cadre. ‘‘It is a dangerous situation when the ruling party activists are taking the law into their own hands.’’

The CPM leadership at the Alimuddin Street party headquarters, however, accused the Congress for fomenting trouble in Chopra for a long time. ‘‘What happened in Chopra is an outburst of popular discontent against Congress hooligans,’’ said Anil Biswas, CPM state secretary. He however appealed to the party cadre for peace.

A K Chakravarty, secretary of the state election commission, said the killings would not hamper the panchayat election process. He said the commission hadn’t received any complaints from the Congress regarding the killings.