WB forest dept runs for cover from Naxals

Under this programme, village forest protection committees work with the Forest Department to protect trees and harvest the produce when they mature. The PWG ban has halted the organised felling for two successive seasons, official sources said.

The spurt in PWG’s activity in the Midnapore-Bankura belt has triggered more armed raids in remote forest offices. A recent state intelligence report said more such attacks were likely. It hinted at the formation of at least eight armed PWG squads, including a women’s wing, in the region.

A safe corridor too exists, said the report, that connects Naxalites in Bengal with their Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh counterparts through Jharkhand.

According to a senior Forest Department official, its beat and range offices deep inside the forests in Jhargram-Ranibandh (Midnapore-Bankura) have become easy targets. All the offices have cash, arms and ammunition. And being isolated and thinly manned, they can offer little resistance during armed attacks.

For instance, at Amlagara in Jhargaram division, an armed gang looted Rs 2 lakh; in Purulia, Rs 3 lakh in transit was looted, and the Garbeta and Rangamatia range offices were robbed of arms, ammunition and cash.

The Forest Department’s appeal did prompt state police to provide armed camps, for which vantage points were identified. But no deployment has taken place. A police officer said they were having second thoughts over setting up the camps because these too could be robbed.

A desperate Forest Department turned to the Finance Department for permission to let range officers open accounts in the nearest nationalised banks. This would help prevent accumulation of cash at range or beat offices. But the finance department is yet to give its approval.

State intelligence sources say some extremists have always been present in the region. But after the Trinamool Congress’ debacle in the 2001 Assembly polls, people unhappy with the ruling CPI(M) joined hands with extremist elements.

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had tried hard to make a political dent in this region. Though successful at first, her efforts fizzled out for lack of an organisational network. Many who had supported her in the fight with CPI(M) have now reportedly switched to the PWG.

Midnapore CPI(M) secretary Dipak Sarkar said extremists gunned down about four party leaders in the region. ‘‘But they won’t be able to make any dent in our support base. We are fighting them politically and administratively, Sarkar said.

According to regional political buzz, the CPI(M) has created motorcycle squads and armed cadres to fight the PWG.