CPM office in temple closed

Howrah:: A CPM office allegedly set up by force on the premises of a temple of the Matua community near Belur was closed down today.

Trinamul minister Arup Roy and MLA Sultan Singh led more than 1,000 members of the Matua community to the temple.

“We closed down the party office and returned the Santi Devi Hari Mandir temple to the Matua community,” said Singh, the Bally MLA. “The temple had virtually been converted into a CPM party office since 2008,” he said.

Jagat Biswas, organising secretary of Matua Mahasangha’s central committee, also said the CPM had taken possession of the temple in 2008.

However, Arunabha Lahiri, a CPM leader and chairman of the Bally municipality, denied having opened a party office on the temple premises. “The temple belongs to the Matuas and it’s a false propaganda against us,” he said.