Thaindian News

Kolkata, Feb 16 (IANS) Security forces Tuesday launched a massive hunt in the forests on the West Bengal-Jharkhand border to track down Maoists who massacred 24 policemen in one of the most gruesome attacks in West Bengal that also left a civilian dead.
But West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh admitted that Monday’s audacious raid on an isolated police camp at Shilda in West Midnapore district was a setback and that the camp would have to be moved to a safer place.

“We will continue the anti-Maoist operation,” Singh said, admitting that the raid was a “kind of setback for the security forces” as it had caused the loss of several lives.

The death toll climbed to 25 Tuesday with the death of a 22-year-old village boy, Gurupada Hasda, who died of splinter injuries from a landmine that exploded during the Maoist assault.

Twenty-four men from the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) were massacred in the attack. Some of them were forced into a tented enclosure by the rebels who then set it on fire.

“Location-wise the camp is not safe for the jawans,” Singh said after visiting the spot that was stormed by armed Maoists who reportedly came in vans and motorcycles, their number put at around 60.

Evidently cut up with the locals in West Midnapore district, he told reporters: “We set up this camp to provide a sense of security to the local people. But if they (locals) cannot give basic assistance to our personnel, we have to relocate the camp to a different place where our jawans will be able to retaliate if any such attack happens in future.”

He added that there was lack of enough security personnel in some of the camps in the region housing both the State Armed Police (SAP) and the EFR.

According to local sources, about 60 armed members of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) stormed the Shilda camp, taking the security personnel by surprise.

There were 35 EFR and 16 SAP personnel in the camp when it came under a well-planned and well-coordinated attack.

The attackers opened indiscriminate fire, and set a portion of the camp ablaze after forcing the overwhelmed security personnel into a tent, reducing much of it to ashes.

Police reinforcements which reached the site Monday night came across bodies of their dead colleagues, some in civilian clothes, burnt cots, charred utensils as well as footwear besides firearms destroyed in the fire.

The Maoists also planted landmines in a bid to check security forces from pursuing them. They shouted slogans and scattered pamphlets while escaping after the attack.

Singh said his men could not retaliate properly as it would have caused casualties among the civilians living nearby. According to the police, three Maoists were also killed in the counter-fire by the EFR personnel.

“Though we don’t have the exact figure, we think at least 40 firearms were taken away by the Maoists,” the police officer said.

Singh said: “We have asked for additional forces. Once we get them, we will start our operation in the Maoist belt again.”

State Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said the central government had asked for a detailed report on the attack.

Ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose called for a “more coordinated action against the rebels”.

Maoists are active in three western districts of the state - Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.

The Shilda attack came six days after Home Minister P. Chidambaram met here officials of Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to launch an inter-state offensive against the left-wing extremists.