Chhtradhar Mahato, a pro-Maoist leader and the face of Lalgarh movement, who made an abortive bid on the life of the then West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in 2008, got a major reprieve on Thursday from the Calcutta High Court, which commuted his life sentence to 10 years in prison.
Along with Mahato, the life sentence of other pro-Maoist leaders Sambhu Soren, Sukh Shanti Baskey and Sagun Murmu was also reduced to 10 years. Accordingly the sentence of these leaders who still enjoy good following in the Jangal Mahal area will end on September 25. They were arrested during the Left Front regime in September 2009 and booked under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Apart from commuting their sentences, the Division Bench of Justice Mumtaz Khan and Jay Sengupta acquitted two other alleged ultra Leftist ideologues Raja Sorkhel and Prasun Chatterjee who were serving life sentence for want of evidence.