Cracks appear in CPM,comrades speak up: this is abject surrender

Commenting on the swap,CPM’s state secretary Biman Bose said: “The state government is liable for whatever action the state administration has taken in securing the release of the officer from captivity. I have nothing to say.” Party sources said Bankura,West Midnapore and Purulia district committees are putting pressure on the government for a total battle against the Maoists.

“Why has the government surrendered when Maoists,including Kishenji,were surrounded by the joint forces? Why has the government bowed its head to the armed Maoists?” said a senior party leader.

Top police officers confirmed that they had surrounded the Maoist squad that had abducted Atindranath Dutta,the officer-in-charge of the Sankrail police station,when they got a call from Kolkata to call off the operation. The police commando team had tracked cellphone calls to zero in on the group.

Kishenji,the Maoist leader,was also believed to be moving with this squad. “We were able to locate the positions of both the Maoist leader and the abducted officer. We launched an operation and engaged the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) members. But suddenly the orders came from the top of the administration. First we were asked to stop firing,after an hour came the order to withdraw the men and return to the camps,” he added.

After his release,Dutta confirmed that he had heard gunshots in the morning. When the exchange of fire was on,Kishenji was in touch with television channels and desperately appealed for the forces to be withdrawn and the firing stopped. He issued a warning that if the security forces did not stop firing,the Maoists would not take responsibility for Dutta’s safety and,in fact,he could be killed in the crossfire. Within half an hour of the warning,the commando operation was called off.