Four PCPA members arrested from Lalgarh

Four members of the Maoist-backed PCPA were arrested today from near the venue of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's rally in the area, a hotbed of the Left wing extremists.

"One of the four Sushil Mahato was re-arrested after he fled from police custody, while three others were taken into custody for extortion and criminal activities," West Midnapore superintendent of police Manoj Verma said.

He said that Mahato was re-arrested from Nischintapur village and three others from Gohmidanga village when the rally was underway. All the four members of People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) were unarmed.

The SP said that the rally lasted nearly three hours and passed off peacefully. 

"We will be keeping a close watch on the situation," the SP said.

The joint forces, meanwhile, were conducting an intensive  combing operation in Gohmidanga forest since morning on an intelligence tipoff that PCPA secretary Manoj Mahato and his associates were hiding there.