Guns rule in battleground near city

[m24]

Times of India : A bit political, but worthwhile read.

SASHAN (NORTH 24-PARGANAS): Miles and miles of water as far as you can see. Some brick kilns, one or two houses, and a godown by the wayside break the monotony. A feast for the eyes, almost. This is no tourist spot, but a place even police fear to tread.

Only a day ago, guns and bombs boomed here as CPM and Trinamool Congress goons fought each other, as much for political turf as the cash that this bheri (fishing pond) area generates on a daily basis.

Welcome to Sashan the land of fishponds, 50 km from Kolkata and spread over seven gram panchayats. One-time paddy farmers have switched to pisciculture, channelising water from the Bidyadhari river. The ankle-deep ponds dry up in winter leaving the area looking like a muddy marshland.

The law of the land means little here. It's the code of the mafia that rules supreme.

This region is the biggest supplier of fish to the Kolkata market, and the bheris are the workshops of multi-crore business. Wads of notes from the aratdars (godown owners) roll into this area every week, though you can't make it out at first glance. Most of the bheri owners and henchmen look like riffraff and speak a very coarse tongue. But take a peek at their houses. You would be surprised to find every modern gadget. And if you are invited in, you'd be offered a drink straight from the refrigerator.

How can crore-plus transactions take place without any surveillance? The answer is simple. The bheri owners technically run by peasant cooperatives with the backing of political leaders raise their own militia.

This is what gives the idyllic scenery an eerie edge. You feel an uneasiness creeping down your spine as you approach the bheris. Groups of men, their faces masked with gamchchas, stand silently under trees, making no attempt to hide their guns. Eyes watch you as you walk past. Someone takes down the registration number of your car. A gunman picks up the mobile phone and speed-dials a number.

There are 10,000 weapons in this area, the goons boast. Rifles, revolvers, countrymade guns and pistols, swords, spears bhojalis and khukris firepower that seven police stations can't begin to match. Ask any gunman and the figure does not change. Ten thousand weapons. An hour's drive from the big city.

The firearms are bought from the "best in the grey market" Munger in Bihar. The administration, which is so worried about the weaponisation of Jangalmahal, needs to take a good look at Sashan and the gunmen who won't hesitate to pull the trigger if they take you as a threat.

Why this fight-to-the-finish mood? Unlike civilized places, people here do not go to police or the administration to resolve disputes. Political gangsters hold the sway because it is cheaper than paying tax.

The element of violence is embedded in the local system. The bheri management changes with the change in political power, so too the beneficiaries. The process is simple. Gram panchayats arrange for an informal tender of leasing out the bheris on an annual basis. Till now it was CPM and its strongman Majid Master who controlled the grabbing of most of the bounty. With the winds of change in the 208 panchayat poll, Trinamool now wants its pound of flesh.

Sashan can be deadly, even worse than Singur, Nandigram or Nanoor, given the firepower and money power. Majid Master, who was beaten up some months ago something unthinkable a year back has fled the area and is trying desperately to make a comeback.

"Earlier, the clashes were between rival factions of CPM over the booty. Now Trinamool is the rising force, trying to dismantle the old business arrangement. We have no choice but to use firearms to protect our bheris," said a bheri owner of Parhharibari village.

Residents of Parkharibari, Kharibari, Dhokra, Bada and Langolpota fear a backlash after Wednesday's gunbattle. CPM men have already sneaked into Dhokra village in Barasat-II block, say sources. Political rivals are marking each other, looking for an opportunity to launch a fresh attack. And police are just outsiders who come to the area on the day of violence and leave as soon as they can.

With new political masters emerging in the area, goons have started dumping CPM and switching loyalties. Many villagers have also changed sides. "CPM goons, led by Majid Master, terrorized us for years. Our mothers and sisters were assaulted and beaten up. This can't go on for long. Now the time has come to oust them," said Kangal Patra, a fisherman of Bada village.

The signals are clear. "We don't want the CPM to rule here any longer," said Manju Pramanik, another villager. "The CPM is dead for us. Long live Trinamool."

[MoA]

Sad state of affairs. India seems to live in the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries simultaneously.

[m24]

And the fact remains, it's getting worse. The divide is growing.

Regards