Maoists order private owners not to rent out vehicles to forces

The direction came shortly after the Maoist cadres informed their top party leaders that instead of using government vehicles, security forces are using a large number of private vehicles to carry out sudden raids in villages known to be strongholds of the CPI Maoist.

This instruction has put the police in trouble because the security forces use several private vehicles to conduct raids in the Maoist-infested blocks in Midnapore West, Bankura and Purulia.

Earlier, cadres belonging to the Peoples8217; Liberation Guerilla Army PLGA, military wing of the CPI Maoist, had blown up a Tata Sumo in Belpahari killing three health department staff, including a doctor.

Seeking an apology for the killings, the Maoist group claimed that its cadres had blown up the vehicle as they had information that policemen were travelling in the car.

8220;The medical staff boarded the Tata Sumo with dark glasses, making themselves vulnerable. The blast unexpectedly killed them instead of the CRPF or police forces,8221; said the statement issued by Surya.

It added: 8220;The green Tata Sumo with a dark glass and no red-cross symbol affixed bore a striking similarity with the vehicle regularly used by the armed forces.8221;

Refusing to give much importance to the statement, senior state police officers said that Maoists are trying to create panic among the villagers in order to create pressure on the state government to stop a counter-insurgency operations.