UNETHICAL "STING" BY WEST BENGAL POLICE Its time the members of the Press Corps of India and concerned democratic people took a stridently vocal stand against this so called "sting" by the West Bengal Police to arrest Chhatradhar Mahato, one of the prominent mass leaders of the Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee in Lalgarh, West Bengal. Why is Buddhadeva Bhattacharya afraid of the people of his state of which he is the Chief Minister The armed police force, in the name of combating Maoist insurgency operation have wrecked havoc on the hapless tribals in and around Lalgarh. The administration has continued displacing tribals. The police has routinely raped tribal women, due to which there has also been exodus of the tribals from Lalgarh�Shalboni. Why is the C.M. quiet about the Jindal SEZ which is the real reason for this attack against the so called "Maoists" It is the history of police atrocities and deprivation that is behind this mass upsurge, Santhal, Lodha, Kheria, Shabar, Munda, Mahato and Murmu inhabit the 105 sq. km forest area of West Medinipur-Bankura-Purulia, but there are neither health services, nor drinking water facilities, electricity or roads. The tribals dont even get benefits from the hundred-day employment guarantee scheme, or Below Poverty Line cards either. The root cause of the problem in and around Lalgarh is the police atrocity and poverty which has not been addressed for the last many decades. On the flip side, when the press does a "sting" posing as decoys to nab corrupt officials in the government, they get cases slapped against them and there is a huge hue and cry. Here we have the brutal corrupt dastardly Bengal Police posing as journalists and arresting a people's leader Chhatradar Mahato and not a peep by the press! This method adopted by the police is unethical, dangerous, cowardly and will lead to a further erosion of the credibility of the press as an institution. We must all raise our voices against this ongoing politics of deceit and ask for immediate release of a leader who fearlesslly stood up against police oppression, brutality and corruption. The fact that the West Bengal police had to resort to such underhand tactics further amplifys the reason for the coming into being of the Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee. There was ample cause for such a people's movement against the high handedness of the police, its brutal tactics and its rampant corruption. As it is well know that the police and administration operate as lawless bodies, with no accountability and are a law unto themselves, even though there are more than enough laws and rules to clearly define the means and methods to be used by the police in their daily functioning. This shameful infringement into our constitutionally protected civil liberties and human rights must be nipped in the bud and that too sternly. We must ask Buddhadeva Bhattacharya, Chief Minister West Bengal to immediately release Chhatradhar Mahato and also to ensure that their police do their work within the ethical framework of the law. Shri Buddhadev Bhattacharya, Chief Minister E-mail : cm@wb.gov.in (O) 22215555, 22145588 Fax: 22215480 Joint Secretary to Chief Minister 22157644 Joint Secretary to Chief Minister 22150033 Addl. Pvt. Secy. to Chief Minister 22215587 Special Assistant to Chief Minister 22353144 Confidential Asstt. to Chief Minister 22150101 Special Officer cum PA to C.M. 22215555 Deputy Chief Minister & MIC, Home (Police) 22252345, Fax: 22215495 Signed Sachin Singh

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