February 3, 2004

 Press Statement

 The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

 It is most unfortunate that  presidential pardon has been granted to release Peter Bleach, the mastermind of the sensational Purulia arms drop case.  Such a pardon was rejected twice earlier and Bleach was tried, found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.  Bleach had, in fact, gone on record to claim that the arms dropped were to be used for destabilising  the duly elected Left Front government in West Bengal.  At a time when the BJP and the Vajpayee government are crying hoarse against terrorism, a noted international terrorist who was duly tried by the law courts and sentenced is being released.