Gaur Chakraborty

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Gaur Chakraborty
Gaur Chakraborty the Maoist Spokesperson.jpg
Gaur Chakraborty
Born1944or1945(age 78–79) [1]
NationalityIndian
OccupationSpokesperson of Communist Party of India (Maoist)
OrganizationCommunist Party of India (Maoist)
Known for Far-left politics
MovementSingur-Nandigram land movement
Lalgarh movement
SpouseMukta Keshi [2]

Gaur Chakraborty alias Gour Narayan Chakraborty is the former spokesperson of West Bengal State committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). He is one of the senior most person in India who was arrested and detained under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. After seven years of incarceration he was acquitted of all charges under the UAPA. [3]

Contents

Political life

Chakraborty worked in the Eastern Railway hawkers union led by Left politics. [4] He was associated with the Communist Party of India before 1967 and later joined the Communist Party of India (Marxist). In the early 70s in West Bengal, he maintained his contacts with Naxal leaders but did not leave the CPI(M). Next three decades, he was attached with Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) and various fractions of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) as well as civil society movement in West Bengal. He became active in Singur and Nandigram movements at the time of Left Front (West Bengal) Government and played a crucial role in uniting urban support bases in favour of the tribal upsurge in Jangalmahal, the three Left wing extremism affected districts of Bankura, Purulia and Paschim Medinipur. In the time of Lalgarh movement, the CPI (Maoist) declared his name as outfit official spokesperson. [5] [6]

Arrest

On 23 June 2009 just immediately after the then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's announcement to implement the ban on the CPI (Maoist) in the state of West Bengal, Kolkata Police arrested Chakraborty as he emerged from the office of a private TV channel in Kolkata after giving them an interview. He was charged with several offences including under section 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. [6] [2] [7] In October 2012 Chakraborty was admitted to Bangur Institute of Neurosciences after a cardiac arrest in Presidency jail. [8]

Acquittal

The City Sessions judge of the Bankshall Court, Kolkata acquitted Mr. Chakraborty of all the charges on 19 July 2016. The prosecution could not substantiate the charges brought against him and he was set free from jail after 7 years imprisonment when he was 78. [9] [1] [2] [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 PTI (19 July 2016). "Maoist leader Gour Chakraborty acquitted of all charges". indiatoday.intoday.in. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Veteran Maoist Gour Chakraborty acquitted". Business Standard India. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 "CPI (Maoist) spokesperson acquitted". The Hindu. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  4. "CPI Maoist spokesperson Gaur Chakraborty remanded to Police custody". 25 June 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  5. "Bengal follows India: Maoists banned,top leader held". indianexpress.com. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Veteran Maoist Gour Chakraborty acquitted". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  7. "Maoist spokesman remanded in police custody, two more arrested". Deccan Herald. PTI. 24 June 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. "Jailed Maoist leader suffers heart attack". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  9. "Veteran Maoist Gour Chakraborty acquitted". oneindia.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2017.