West Bengal & Jharkhand launch ‘Massive’ offensive against Maoists

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Midnapore, Aug. 21: Bengal and Jharkhand will soon launch a “massive” joint operation in the Maoist-hit areas of the two states, home secretary Ardhendu Sen said here today.

“We are working on launching a massive joint operation against the Maoists soon,” the Bengal official said after a meeting with West Midnapore district officials. “We are in constant touch with the neighbouring state on this,” he added.

Sen, who was present with chief secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti at the Prime Minister’s meeting with chief ministers in Delhi on Monday, was here to review the Lalgarh operation. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s statement, which was “tabled” at the meeting in his absence, had referred to the state’s keenness on the joint operation.

In the first week of August, such an offensive was discussed at a meeting here between Jharkhand director-general of police Vishnu Dayal Ram and top Bengal officers.

Yesterday, Maoists and their sympathisers dug up roads and blocked them with trees at several points just outside the security forces’ circle of domination in West Midnapore.

The central and state forces have so far been only “partially” successful in tackling the Maoists, Sen said. He had earlier said the second phase of operation Lalgarh, which started after the circle of domination was completed on June 29, had failed.

About 200 tribal women today laid siege to the Pirakata police outpost, some 30km from the place where Sen was discussing the crackdown, demanding the release of four youths picked up from a forest last night for alleged Maoist links.