Guns fall silent,forces lend a healing touch

Deputy Inspector General of Midnapore Range Praveen Kumar,meanwhile,talked to the locals and listened to their grievances. “Our operations will go on. But what is important is that we must connect with the people. We must make them understand that police are not the oppressors. We are here working against the Maoists,not the people,” he said.

Kumar led the team from Lalgarh to Dharampur whereas Manoj Verma,Superintendent of Police,West Midnapore,led the team from Herua to Dharampur. Forces from both sides started at 8 am and reached Dharampur at 4 pm. The forces were well-equipped with anti-mine vehicles,bomb detection squads.

While marching ahead,Kumar took a detour and first landed up in Pirakuli village. There he spoke to a group of villagers. The locals told him that many of them do not have ration cards and therefore are not getting relief from the local block development office.

Kumar promptly wrote a letter and handed it to them. “Show this letter to the BDO. You will get the relief material. If they do not give you,you come to the police station and show them the letter. We are here to help you,” Kumar assured the villagers.

He and some members of the force then went to the Gouni village. There also the officers informed the villagers about how to collect relief from the BDO’s office.

The officers said reaching Dharampur was another major achievement. They said the operation will continue till some specific areas are sanitised,including villages.

“There are various arterial roads,which connect Lalgarh with adjoining areas. We are now in the process of clearing them. Then we will sanitise the area,including the villages. Our forces are also targeting specific areas where Maoists are holed up,” said a senior officer of state police.

Companies of central forces and CoBRA are already active in the jungle area,trying to flush out the Maoists from there.

Left cadres capturing areas near Lalgarh,says Mamata

* Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday accused the Left cadres in West Bengal of capturing areas near Maoist-affected Lalgarh.

“The CPM cadres are going there on red motorcycles and scooters and capturing the area,” she told mediapersons in New Delhi.

Asked whether Trinamool cadres were visiting Lalgarh and nearby areas,she said no one from her party was going as CPM cadres were moving in the area. “They (Left) are capturing one area after the other,” she added.

Banerjee said around 40,000 people have been displaced from the area. “People are fed up. They (government) have failed to deliver the goods,” said Banerjee.

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