Operation Lalgarh Day-II

Headlines June 20, 2009

Faced with stiff resistance, the state government has been forced to ask for more Central forces to flush out Maoists from Lalgarh. Chief secretary Asok Chakrabarti, said in Kolkata that the state has asked for more Central forces.

Five companies of Central forces had arrived and later six more companies of BSF have reached the state. The joint force set up their base camp at Bhimpur High School ~ 8.7 kilometres from Lalgarh where top police and CRPF officers discussed operational strategies.

Two police men were injured in a landmine blast near Pirakata Bazaar during operations to flush out Maoists.

To avoid confrontation authorities temporarily suspended their operation when armed with primitive weapons thousands of PSBPC supporters, mostly women and children, blocked a road last evening. They shot arrows at policemen. Gun-wielding youths, faces covered with towels, were seen leading the mob.

Santrash Birodhi Public Committee (PSBPC), backed by armed Leflist ultras, recaptured some areas from the security forces. Maoists and PSBPC members also recaptured Kulidaha, Malida and Pirakuli. Camps of the State Armed Force have been set up at Malida, Kulidaha and Pirakuli.

Though leaflets  were air-dropped in Lalgarh urging villagers not to help the Maoists , policemen are facing human barricade during marching towards Lalgarh from Goaltore base camp. Armed with bows and arrows, thousands of people blocked their way when the forces reached at Pingboni. Three companies of BSF jawans will join the force at Pingboni today.

Movement of forces to Lalgarh suffered a jolt with PSBPC supporters blowing up the bridge on Kangsabati River at Amkola in Binpur. The Dherua-Lalgrah Road, Sarenga-Lalgarh Road and Sarenga-Chandrakona Road were also blocked with trenches and tree trunks.

Two motorcycle-borne Maoist cadres fired at a police party at Kulidaha yesterday afternoon, sparking off a gun-battle that lasted for more than an hour. No one, however, was injured.

Two more land-mine blasts occurred near Lalgarh police station last night, and Maoists fired several rounds targeting the police station. No casualties were reported.

One unit of the CoBRA Force came to Bhimpur High School, but later went back to Midnapore. A senior CRPF officer said: “CoBRA Force will start operations if the Central and state police forces face tough resistance from Maoists.”

A red alert has been sounded in all four Maoist infested police station areas of Purulia district in view of the police operations in Lalgarh.

Senior police officers also carried out a survey of the terrain from the helicopter yesterday.

Two journalists covering the operation were accosted by PSBPC members led by a Maoist leader, Bikash, at Pirakuli. Maoist cadres reportedly fired eight rounds in the air and snatched their mobile phones. The scribes were let off after half an hour.

“We appeal to the journalists not to follow the police teams as operation is going to be tough in the next few days and it would be very risky for them” the state home secretary Ardhendu Sen, said at Writers’ Buildings.

The government has sent relief materials for villagers who were driven out from their homes in Binpur by the PSBPC.

The Maoists, meanwhile, held a secret meeting with PSBPC leaders at Debagram High School on Thursday night, newspaper reported. Top Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao alias Khishanji, said that they won't back out until people's rule is established. “We won't be cowed down even if more forces are brought in,” he told reporters at Chhoto Pelia in Lalgarh last night.

Koteshwar Rao alias Khishanji has also appealed to Mamata Banerjee to ask the Centre to withdraw forces from Lalgarh as the Maoists had supported her movement against the CPI-M-police sponsored terror in Nandigram.

The Centre has asked the Maoists in Lalgarh area of West Bengal to lay down arms and come for talks. Home minister P Chidambaram said he endorsed the appeal of West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to the Maoists and the tribals to come for talks.

The CPI (Maoist) is not banned in West Bengal as in other states. “We think they should be banned in West Bengal,” Chidambaram said.

Senior leaders of the CPI (Maoist) who had been camping at Lalgarh for the past few months, have already left the area after police operations began, newspaper reported quoting IB officials. They said “The Maoists have brought in squads from Jharkhand and Orissa to augment their West Bengal unit. Action squad members from three state units are camping in Lalgarh and adjoining areas. The senior leaders of the outfit will brief them about how to go about it. But they themselves will not engage the security forces. The time is not ripe for them to engage in direct combat as inputs suggest that their objective is to strengthen their cadre base in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh”.