Home Sec asks CRPF to remain at Nandigram till panchayat elections

Kolkata, Mar 6 (UNI) West Bengal Home Secretary P R Roy today asked the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to remain at Nandigram till the state Panchayat elections in May.

Mr Roy told reporters that the situation in Nandigram was under control but preventive arrests would be made till the Panchayat elections were over.

The CRPF personnel were deployed at Nandigram initially for three months on November 12 last year to bring back peace in the embattled area where violence broke out over a Government move to acquire land for a chemical hub.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had visited Nandigram on Tuesday to distribute title deeds to the landless and had appealed to his own party, the CPI (M), and the Trinamool Congress to maintain peace to take up development work stalled for a year because of violence.

Chief Secretary A K Deb and the Home Secretary P R Roy met Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and briefed him about the situation in Nandigram.

UNI KDG KK MP BST0055