FORMER MLA and CPI(M) leader Benoy Datta was kidnapped and mercilessly beaten by TMC hoodlums in Khanakul, Hooghly. He was grievously injured and rescued only with the help from local people.Datta, CPI(M) district secretariat member, was returning after addressing a meeting commemorating November Revolution in Mostafapur in Khanakul. A veteran leader, Datta was pillion riding on a motorcycle of a Party worker. TMC workers encircled the motorcycle on the road and attacked Datta first with sticks and bamboo sticks. Then he was forcibly taken away from there. He was beaten mercilessly and circumstances indicated that the goons tried to kill him. Local people rushed to search for him and they rescued Datta .Meanwhile, the news of the kidnapping reached to CPI(M) state centre also and opposition leader Suryakanta Misra contacted the higher-ups in state administration. The police went to the spot and Datta was found bleeding profusely. He was taken to primary health centre and then to Arambagh hospital where he was admitted. He suffered serious head injuries. Almost entire Arambagh sub division in Hooghly district has become a terrorised zone for the last two and half years. Thousands of CPI(M) activists and supporters were forced to leave their homes. CPI(M) and other mass organisations are not ‘allowed’ to function there. Party offices and houses have been burnt. In the recently held panchayat elections, no contest was allowed against the ruling party. Benoy Datta himself was arrested after TMC came to power in the state on false charges. Later he was released by the court direction. CPI(M) activists, however, are braving this situation and are organising people on issues. The murderous attack on Benoy Datta is a planned attack to threaten the Party and the people. As usual, no one was arrested after such an attack. The local police are unwilling to take any action, as has become the order of the day in the entire state. Left Front leaders went to meet Datta in his house. CPI(M) state secretariat member Rabin Deb, Forward Block leader Hafiz Alam Sairani, RSP leader Samar Samanta, Left Front chief whip in assembly Biswanath Karak were among those who met Datta. The leaders expressed anguish about the role of police.