Banerjee also said that 27 people have been missing in Nandigram since March 14. The bench, in reply, asked if habeas corpus will be moved.

Refusing to pass any order, the bench observed that the CBI should come with proper application if it faced any problems. The court also asked the agency to keep all relevant material collected from Nandigram in a sealed cover.

Following the hearing, Advocate Ranjan Roy told the media that the CBI still has the liberty to go to Nandigram in accordance with the March 15 order. But the Advocate General interpreted the bench’s order today as a refusal to extend time for the CBI inquiry.

Nandigram spillover

• BHUBANESWAR: Villagers opposed to the Rs 52,000-crore POSCO steel project near Paradip have formed “self-sacrifice squads” to protect their lands from being acquired. The villagers, under the banner of ‘POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti’ (PPSS), announced this at a meeting on Sunday. “We have formed squads of 500 people who have vowed to sacrifice their lives in order to save their land”, said PPSS president Abhaya Sahu.

• MIDNAPORE: At least 45 people from Orissa were detained at Kharagpur while on their way to Nandigram to express solidarity with the locals there, officials said on Monday. They were brought to the town police station for questioning, they said. They were being questioned to know the motive of their proposed visit, the officials said, adding that the police had also contacted their counterparts in Orissa to know about the antecedents of those detained.