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Tuesday 09th of February 2010 04:53:23 AM |
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Govt launches offensive in Lalgarh; Security forces move in to wipe out Maoists
2009-06-18 [19:41:00 hrs] | |  | The Government has launched an offensive in the restive Lalgarh region to end the three-day siege of Maoists. Security forces including CRPF and the state police this afternoon marched in to the restive Lalgarh region. The movement was initially stalled by a human blockade set up by the Maoists at Pirkata. But police used tear gas to disperse the blockaders. After overcoming the resistance at Pirkata, police had to face another blockade at Bhimpur, where a clash with the PCPA members broke out. |
| | | The police had to resort to a lathicharge. Reports suggest that the blockaders also fired at the troops.
Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty told the press that the operations in Lalgarh and adjoining areas will continue untill the Maoists have been flushed out from the eighteen police station areas in the Bankura-Purulia-West Midnapore region. These areas continue to remain under the extremists' seige.
He also said that the administration would deploy helicopters from Friday to assist in the flush-out operations.
On the issue of discussion with the Maoists, the Chief Secretary did not rule out the scope for discussion with the extremists, provided they stopped the violence.
In another incident, a Maoist march was dispersed by the police in the Sarenga region in Bankura.
After four days of inaction, the Bengal government has finally launched an operation on Thursday to flush out the Maoists from what has been a CPM bastion for 30 years.
Five hundred CRPF personnel, including 200 personnel of the elite COBRA trained in anti-Maoist operations, have been deployed to deal with the situation. Around four trucks of central and state police force personnel have entered Lalgrah through Pirakata, which links the place to Midnapore, in the morning hours. The other three entry/exit points to Lalgrah through Binpur, Dohijhuri and Bherua have been blocked by felling trees and digging up roads.
Maoists have formed a three-tier human shield with women and children in the vanguard, men behind them and armed naxals forming the rearguard, according to a senior police officer. Sources say the forces want to minimize casualties and will thus move slowly.
"Operation at Lalgarh has started this morning. The operation will be mainly done by the state police but we will be adequately assisted by the Central forces," West Bengal DGP Sujit Kumar Sarkar said.
Asked about the number of forces deployed, Sarkar said the details “cannot be divulged right now”.
"But there are adequate (state) forces to restore peace and normalcy in the area. The CRPF will give adequate back up and if needed, they will actively participate," he said over phone from Kolkata.
Agitating tribals of West Midnapore and adjoining areas have been protesting police "atrocities" on them in the wake of the landmine blast at Salboni which was believed to target the Chief Minister.
The tribals, numbering 2000 under the banner of People's Committee Against Police Atrocities, dug up roads amid reports that they were laying landmines to stop the security forces.
"We will try to shed minimum blood," Sarkar said adding I cannot tell you the exact timeframe (of the operation)."
Five hundred CRPF personnel, including 200 personnel of the elite COBRA trained in anti-Maoist operations, have been deployed to deal with the situation.
Conceding to pressure from the Centre, the state government had ordered the police to lead the operation with assistance from the central forces.
J'khand home dept seals border to check entry of Lalgarh rebels
Fearing cross-border movement of CPI(Maoist) rebels from Lalgarh, the state home department has asked security forces to seal Jharkhand's
borders with West Bengal.
Police in all districts bordering West Bengal have been asked to seal the border and keep round-the-clock vigil on highways so that any attempts by the guerillas to sneak into the state was foiled. Security forces in the two districts of East and West Singhbhum, which forms part of the "Red corridor", have been asked to be even more vigilant.
"There is information that all Maoist incidents in Jharkhand were planned to keep the security forces in the state busy so that there could be easy cross-border movement of the rebels," a senior police officer here said.
"Since the Maoists have always taken advantage of the porous inter-state border, we have asked the police to seal the border and be more vigilant to foil attempts by the Red brigade to sneak into Jharkhand and then move on to Orissa or Chhattisgarh.
"After making an assessment of developments in West Bengal and Jharkhand in the last few days anyone can assess that the series of attacks on security forces in Jharkhand was to divert the attention of police and ensure safe passage," the officer added.
He also revealed that there was information of a high level team from Union home ministry visiting the state to assess the situation.
State home secretary JB Tudid said that security forces in Jharkhand would do everything to prevent cross-border movement of Maoists and thwart their efforts create unrest.
"We are keeping a close watch on the developments on the other side of the border as well as in our area," he said. |
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