Nandigram: Trinamool Congress activists, who had overrun the Marxist stronghold of Khejuri and laid siege to the police station there for two days, on Tuesday lifted the blockade but said they would search houses of CPI(M) leaders to unearth arms.
The party, which had only allowed food and water to be supplied as part of its boycott of the police, allowed the 100-odd policemen to shop for essentials today, Zilla Parishad Sabhadhipati Ranjit Mondal said.
District Magistrate Chhoten Lama said the blockade by the Trinamool Congress of the Khejuri police station has been lifted.
The party, however, said it would prevent the police from making searches for arms at Kamarda, Janka, Bidyapith and Battala areas in Khejuri, the control of which has been wrested by the party from the Marxists, and search for arms
themselves.
"We will launch a non-cooperation movement against the police. Women and children will stop the police from making searches for arms.
"Villagers will themselves unearth arms concealed in houses of CPI(M) leaders and hand them over to the police," Mondal said.
The party, however, vowed to continue the protest against the the arrest of 14 supporters charged with setting ablaze and ransacking CPI(M) party offices, claiming that it was a "frame up".
Mondal said the police boycott was not unlawful or unconstitutional and claimed it was a spontaneous outburst of the people against their interests being ignored for long.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) sources claimed that 2,500 to 3,000 party supporters, including gram panchayat pradhans and panchayat members were forced to flee their homes in the past week following attacks by the Trinamool Congress.
"Over 3000 of our supporters have been forced to switch allegiance to Trinamool," a local leader, now on run, claimed.
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