Operation Lalgarh was an armed operation in India against the
Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
s who have been active in organising an armed tribal movement alongside a group called the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). The operation is organised by the police and security forces in
Lalgarh
Lalgarh is a small town and a gram panchayat in the Binpur I Community development blocks in India, CD block under the Jhargram subdivision of the Jhargram district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal.
Lalgrah ca ...
,
Jhargram
Jhargram is a city and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhargram district. It is a popular tourist destination known for its forests, ancient temples and royal pala ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
to restore law and order in the area and flush out the Maoists.
The area of operation is said to be expanded to 18 police stations in the three Maoist-affected districts of
Paschim Medinipur
Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...
(include newly splitted
Jhargram
Jhargram is a city and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhargram district. It is a popular tourist destination known for its forests, ancient temples and royal pala ...
),
Bankura
Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district.
Etymology
In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...
and
Purulia
Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River.
Geography
Location
Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...
.
Background
The incident has its root in an incident on 2 November 2008. On the way back from laying the foundation stone of
Jindal
Jindal is a often used as a family name.
* O. P. Jindal, Indian industrialist and parliamentarian
* Savitri Jindal, chairperson emeritus of Jindal Steel and Power
* Bobby Jindal, politician and former Governor of Louisiana, United States
* Prag ...
steel plant at
Shalboni, the convoy of the chief minister of West Bengal
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu (born 1 March 1944) is an Indian Communist politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 20 ...
and then central ministers
Ram Vilas Paswan
Ram Vilas Paswan (5 July 19468 October 2020) was an Indian politician from Bihar and the Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in the first and second Modi ministries. Paswan was also the president of the Lok Jansha ...
and
Jitin Prasada
Jitin Prasada (born 29 November 1973) is an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh. He was appointed Cabinet Minister by the Government of Uttar Pradesh on 26 September 2021. Earlier, he has been the former Minister of State for Human Resource De ...
came under a
landmine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
attack by the Maoists.
Though the ministers were unharmed, it hit a police jeep in the convoy and six policemen were grievously injured. The
CPI(Maoist) in a press release accepted the responsibility of the explosion and stated clearly that they were opposed to the steel plant on tribal land and that the target of the explosion was Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt, the West Bengal Police carried out raids across the Lalgarh area. Due to the influence by ruling party
CPI (Marxist), the police atrocities, indiscriminate raids and brutal beatings, resulting in serious injuries to many people, mainly women. People have been subjected to beatings, torture, molestation of women and false cases.
The locals allege that Lalgarh police station has long been torturing and detaining adivasis at the smallest pretext on basis of speculation. On 4 November 2008 evening, three boys all studying in high school between standards 8 and 10, were going to their homes in Bashber Village on foot. They were returning from Katapahari, where a program of
Baul
The Baul ( bn, বাউল) are a group of mystic minstrels of mixed elements of Sufism, Vaishnavism and Tantra from Bangladesh and the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Barak Valley and Meghalaya. Bauls constitut ...
Song was going on. On the way they were picked up by Lalgarh police for being suspected
Maoists
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
The villagers were enraged in the incident and surrounded the Lalgarh police station and blockades were made on several roads by felling trees and digging the roads. Later they formed a committee named ''
Police Santras Birodhi Janosadharan Committee'' (People's Committee against Police Atrocities) which demanded on thirteen issues and put up posters to publicise the same. The major demands include the Superintendent of Police of
Paschim Medinipur
Paschim Medinipur district or West Midnapore district (also known as Midnapore West) is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on 1 January 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Paschim Medinipur and Purba M ...
district has to hold his ears and ask for forgiveness and he has to say 'Form now onwards I will stop illegally arresting the people and especially women' and release of those illegally arrested and cases has to be dropped against them. Some of the demands of the committee were met and cases against those children arrested were dropped. In turn the Committee removed some of the blockades, though police were not allowed to patrol the area. The Maoists congratulated the people of Lalgarh for their protest, but stopped short if claiming the movement to be under their control.
The people of Lalgarh however continually maintained that their movement was peaceful and for demand of basic democratic rights.
Moreover, adivasis of these area were demanding simple development measure such as health centres, schools and roads and the basic means for survival, such as proper prices for forest produce such as the tendu leaves and babui grass, and an end to harassment in the hands of forest officials, timber mafia etc. that drew the ire of the state on them. Which give us a sense of déjà vu with set up of the Police Santras Birodhi Janaganer Committee (PSBJC), or People's Committee Against Police Atrocities by Sri Chhatradhar Mahata.
The movement
The beginning
The police quickly understood the extent of mobilization that the adivasis have made and started making false promises about the imminent release of those arrested including the 3 school students. The police thought of buying some time with these lies, hoping that the mass will disperse with time. But the adivasi crowd around the Police Station only got thicker. Support and solidarity from surrounding and far off adivasi villages started pouring in.
The otherwise omnipresent leaders of political parties were not allowed to negotiate. The adivasi were rather happy about this as in the past the interference of these leaders in any mass protests have always resulted in confusion and withdrawing of the protests with unknown negotiations behind closed door meetings. This time the adivasis chose their representatives from amongst themselves who were communicators rather than leaders and took no decision on behalf of the mass but only communicated them. Soon the police understood that the adivasis were in no mood to return without a result and they disclosed that nothing was in their hands because the ones arrested had already been transferred to Midnapore jail the previous day.
The blockade
The repeated lies by the Lalgarh police infuriated the mass who decided not to depend on the police for any results and to build up a movement to force the release of those illegally detained. They decided to prevent the deployment of reinforcement of police and paramilitary as previously many adivasi movements have been brutally crushed using paramilitary force. Thus roads were dug up and blocked at several places by felled trees. This has uncanny resemblance to the
Nandigram
Nandigram is a census town in the Nandigram I Community Development Block of the Haldia subdivision in the Purba Medinipur district of the Indian state of West Bengal.
In 2007, the West Bengal government allowed the Salim Group to set up a che ...
movement remained at the headlines throughout 2007 March to December. The Lalgarh village is connected with
Jhargram
Jhargram is a city and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhargram district. It is a popular tourist destination known for its forests, ancient temples and royal pala ...
and
Medinipur
Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...
towns by roads which are bordered on both sides by sparse to moderate forests. the roads have been dug up or blocked by trees at least in 25 places.
Solidarity
The road blockade was not just in and around Lalgarh but villages all around took initiative to do the same as they joined in the movement. Adivasi people all around West Bengal felt oneness with the movement as most have faced torture at the hands of police for suspected of being Maoists or their sympathizers. People from villages across West and East Midnapore,
Bankura
Bankura () is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bankura district.
Etymology
In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word or (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced af ...
,
Birbhum
Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impor ...
,
Puruliya
Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River.
Geography
Location
Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...
quickly joined in the movement.
Grass root democracy
The movement had no conventional leadership and often entire village population sat together and discussed for hours as to the steps to be taken in the movement. Men, women, youth, students all took part in these grand meetings. The traditional leaders were not stripped of the respect that they usually received but were given no more weight than anyone else at the meetings. A forum was thus launched which had no conventional political color and which united the entire adivasi society for a common cause after a long time. It gained immense popularity and most mainstream parties and their mass bases vanished altogether.
Village committees
Each Village formed a committee of 10 representatives who would with committees of other villages to communicate the decision of the masses of one village to another. Each committee further had two persons who had to be available at all times in case of urgent meetings at short notices.
Participation of women
Adivasi women have come forward in a big way to carry forth this movement. Each 10 persons committee has 5 women members. This involvement of women came naturally to the adivasis who have a more equal society when it comes to gender. The participation of women in meetings and rallies are also remarkable. The atrocities over the women of Lalgarh have been excessive, and the women since then never attend rallies unarmed. They bring along whatever is at hand. Bows, arrows, knives, swords, scythes, axes, sticks, brooms and so on. The attack on the dawn of 5 November has been most brutal on the women
[The Telegraph, 13 November 2008](_blank)
/ref> with one of them losing her sight, as the butt of a police rifle landed on it. Another woman of Lalghar was manhandled and left unconscious in broad daylight as she tried preventing the police who dragged away her husband who happens to be a local Jharkhand Party
The Jharkhand Party (JP) (Hindi:झापा ) is an oldest Political Party in India formed in the year of 5 March 1949 by Jaipal Singh Munda.Which grew out of the demand for a separate Jharkhand state.
Jharkhand Party participated in Electio ...
leader while they were buying medicines. All this adding to the severe torture and repression of women have led to the present consolidation of the adivasi women, or so they claim.
The demands
The adivasis of Lalgarh sat together to decide upon eleven demands to be met by the government in order that the blockades be removed and police activity normalized. Press statement were given, leaflets distributed and posters in Bengali put up all around, stating the demands.
;The English translation of the demands would be:
# The SP has to hold his ears and ask for forgiveness. He has to say 'Form now onwards I will stop illegally arresting the people and especially women.'
# The police who were involved in the 5/11/2008 incident where women were beaten up have to rub their noses on the ground as punishment, from Dalailpur Chawk to Choto Pelia.
# The women of Choto Pelia who were injured by the police torture have to be compensated with 200,000 rupees each.
# All suspects arrested or detained in relation to the Shalboni incident have to be released unconditionally.
# All people arrested or accused in suspicion of being Maoist in West Midnapore since 1998 have to be cleared of all charges and should not be compelled to attend court sessions or police station enquiries regularly.
# Arresting locals from anywhere, anytime without warrant have to be ended.
# All paramilitary camps like those in Dharampur, Kalaimudi, Ramgarh have to be removed immediately.
# That Sasadhar Mahato planned the Shalboni explosion sitting in Bashber village — this allegation has to be withdrawn.
# The practice of harassing clubs and organizations of independent people all over Bengal must be put to an end.
# Police patrolling in villages from 5 in the evening to 6 in the dawn have to be stopped.
# Schools, hospitals, panchayet
The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...
offices cannot be used as police camps, the existing ones have to be removed
Later two more demands were added in face of violent attacks by CPI(M) cadres on the adivasi
The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...
people involved with the movement.
Traditional leadership
The traditional tribal leaders have been mostly disowned by the tribals of Lalgarh. The Majhi Baba or village elders had since 10 November 2008 proactively engaged in negotiations with the government authority. On 13 November 2008 they declared that most of their demands have been agreed upon and thus they were withdrawing the blockade. Some blockades were removed as well, but the adivasis sat together to decide otherwise and decided to boycott the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa group. Their youth wing leader was even beaten up and made to apologise for removing a blockade.[The Telegraph, 13 November 2008,''Tribals also beat up a member of the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa, a group of elders that was negotiating with district officials..''](_blank)
/ref>
Maoist connection
The government and the ruling party CPI(M) have throughout maintained that the movement of Lalgarh was instigated and somewhat led by Maoist
Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
agents, many of whom have come from Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
and Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. The police from the beginning blamed the Maoists for the Shalboni blast and raided the villages and detained people for having suspected Maoist Links. The police alleged that Sasadhar Mahato and other Maoist action squad members planned the Shalboni blast while in Bashber village, Lalgarh. The Maoists soon accepted responsibility of the blast and congratulated the people of Lalgarh for their protest, but stopped short if claiming the movement to be under their control.[The Telegraph, 13 November 2008,''CPI (Maoist) state secretary Kanchan said: “We are with the people of Lalgarh."''](_blank)
/ref> The people of Lalgarh however continually maintained that their movement was peaceful and for demand of basic democratic rights.
Ruled by fear
Back in 1977, after the first Left Front government took power in West Bengal, entire villages were freed from the control of jotedars, or landlords, by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers.
Income poverty and deprivation continue to exist throughout the region — but land reform has given adivasi
The Adivasi refers to inhabitants of Indian subcontinent, generally tribal people. The term is a Sanskrit word coined in the 1930s by political activists to give the tribal people an indigenous identity by claiming an indigenous origin. The term ...
s a level of freedom and security their counterparts in the rest of India do not enjoy.
Marketed as the liberation of Lalgarh, Maoist rule, in fact, made the life of most adivasis worse. Income from forest produce, on which most local residents are dependent, dried up. Government programmes intended to mitigate hardship collapsed altogether.
"In November," says Bhumidhansola resident Manek Singh, "the Maoists forbade us to enter the forests to cut wood. The Forest Department used to pay us Rs. 70 a day for this work. Now, no one even enters this area to purchase the leaf-plates we make. We have been left with nothing."
How, then, have the Maoists gained so much influence in Lalgarh? Jharkhand Party candidate Chunibala Hansda had this simple answer for one journalist reporting on the Lok Sabha elections: "People are scared of them".
Last year, even as the PSBJC was mobilising people against the West Bengal government, the Bharat Jakat Majhi Marwa — an organisation of traditional adivasi community leaders, which is opposed to the CPI(M) — organised a rally to protest Maoist violence. More than 10,000 adivasis gathered in Bhulabheda area of Belpahari on 9 December.
Sudhir Mandal, the adivasi leader who organised the rally, was shot dead less than 48 hours later.
Extortion and attacks
Faced with extortion and attacks by Maoists, government staff also fled the area. Lalgarh residents told The Hindu that the Integrated Child Development Scheme workers were ordered to pay Rs. 1,000 each month; school teachers and staff at the Block Development Office said they were compelled to part with twice as much to local Maoists.
Following the assassination of government doctor Honiran Murmu and staff nurse Bharati Majhi in October, the Lalgarh area has had almost no access to health care.
The 2009 Loksabha election saw a change of power from the Left Wing to the Trinamool Congress
The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...
- Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
coalitions in West Bengal, with the coalition winning a total of 25 seats out of 42 seats. Most parts of West Bengal witness post-election political clash and mostly in the Midnapore and Hooghly districts. In Lalgarh area, the CPIM party offices and houses of leaders were ransacked by the people who allege to be getting support from the Maoists. The attacks were increased as the arms and ammunitions were recovered from those party offices. Many of the CPIM supporters have either joined the committee or have left the area in fear of attacks. The people socially boycotted the police, and stopped them from buying foods and other essentials, which forced the police to leave their camps in the Lalgarh area making it a virtual free zone.
Operation — First phase
The Government of West Bengal
The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...
asked assistance from the Central Government to assist the West Bengal Police
The West Bengal Police is one of the two police forces of the Indian state of West Bengal. The other being the Kolkata Police, which has a separate jurisdiction across Kolkata.
The West Bengal Police was reorganized under provisions of the Poli ...
in the operations against the Maoists in Lalgarh. Five companies of Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
(CRPF) and two companies of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) forces who are specially trained to combat with the Maoist arrived at Midnapore
Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...
on 17 June 2009. In a special meeting between District Officials, Deputy General of Police (West Bengal) and home Secretary Ardhendu Sen the decision to launch the operation was decided. The final order to start the operation was given by Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya.
Day 1
On 18 June morning at about 8:00 (IST
Ist or IST may refer to:
Information Science and Technology
* Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Science and Technology
* Graduate School / Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Hokkaido University, Japan
* Graduate School ...
), the CRPF along with State Riot Police and Commandos proceeded toward Pirakata en route to Lalgarh. Further meetings were conducted during the day between police and district officials on the method of the operation. It was decided that the security forces would march towards Lalgarh as the roads were dug up and trees has been placed as blockades on the roads. The forces started out for the operations at around 16:00 (IST) from Pirakata. The forces faced the first resistance from the villagers at Malida village which is around two kilometres from Pirakata, where around 2000 villagers had gathered acting as "human shields". After warning by the additional Superintendent of Police to leave the place, tear gas shells were fired and subsequent lathi charge was made to disperse the mob. The police raided some houses and detained some villagers in search of Maoists. The police were also successful to disperse and remove three more blockades during the day including one at Tirlakhali, and proceeded further 2 kilometres to Bhimpur village at 18:30 IST. The forces decided to push back 2 km and halt for the night by the roadside at Koima. Some of them retreated another 1 km to Tirlakhali. During setting up of the camp, some gun shots were fired at the police forces from the paddy fields at short intervals and the police force return fired in the direction without resulting any casualties. The police force scanned the area through night vision binoculars. The CRPF men who took part in the action were replaced at night by those kept in reserve at the Pirakata camp while the district riot police have been replaced by the state armed police.
Day 2
On 19 June 2009 morning several leaflets in Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
and Ol Chiki
The Ol Chiki () script, also known as Ol Chemetʼ (Santali: ''ol'' 'writing', ''chemet'' 'learning'), Ol Ciki, Ol, and sometimes as the Santali alphabet invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu in the year 1925, is the official writing system for San ...
were distributed from the Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...
helicopters by the government to stay away from the Maoists and refrain from becoming human shields. The security forces tried to advance towards Lalgarh from four different ways; from Sarenga in Bankura district in the north, from Goaltore
Goaltore, also spelled Goaltor, is a village in the Garhbeta II CD block in the Medinipur Sadar subdivision of the Paschim Medinipur district in West Bengal, India.
Geography
Location
Goaltore is located at .
Area overview
There are large ...
in the east, from Jhargram
Jhargram is a city and a municipality in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Jhargram district. It is a popular tourist destination known for its forests, ancient temples and royal pala ...
-Dahijuri
Dahijuri is a village and a gram panchayat in the Binpur I CD block in the Jhargram subdivision of the Jhargram district in the state of West Bengal, India.
Socio-political turmoil
Dahijuri was a centre of violent Maoist activity during the ...
route in the west and the mainly through Midnapur- Pirakata route in the south of Lalgarh. Three companies of Border Security Force
The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
(BSF) have been deployed in the operation. Three more companies of BSF has been sent to Lalgarh. This is the first time the BSF has been deployed in anti-Naxal operations. The helicopters were used during the day mainly over the Lalgarh — Dharampur area for air surveillance.
The squads had started operation in one of the most infamous place known as Jhitkha Jungle, which is considered to be Maoist's den keeping in front the COBRA force dividing in two different groups of about 200 soldiers. The sanitization operation to flush out the Maoists in Jhitkha Jungle by the COBRA forces who arrived at Bhimpur at around 13:00 IST, turned out to be an inspection operation along 2 km stretch of the road that passes through the jungle.
Another squad of police have surrounded the area around Sarenga
Sarenga is a census town in Sankrail CD Block of Howrah Sadar subdivision in Howrah district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is a part of Kolkata Urban Agglomeration.
Geography
Sarenga is located at . It has an average elevation of . ...
in adjacent Bankura district
Bankura district (Pron: bãkuɽa) is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is part of Medinipur division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. Bankura district is surrounded by Purba Bardhaman distri ...
to seal the escape routes of the Maoists. The police force consisting of a company of CRPF personnels coming from the Sarenga route stopped at Kargil More as the approach road to the bridge was cut, and they had to retreat back to Sarenga. They also broke a demonstration stage and lathi charged the PCAPA members in Sarenga who were present in the demonstration, where 15 members were arrested.
The team who were approaching by the Jharagram route, though able to reach Dahijuri, they returned to Jhargram due to suspect of landmine on the road and roads being dug by PCAPA members. Another team of security forces started moving from Goaltore, which is around 25 km from Lalgarh. The forces had to stop at different places to clear the trees and bypassing the dug roads. Around 500 forces from the Eastern Frontier Rifle and State Armed Forces took part in the operation in this route. They had to face severe resistance from the PCAPA members at Pingboni village, where around 3000 villagers blocked the roads and shot arrows against the police force. However, at around 17:00 IST the police was able to break the barricade and moved forward. Around 10 persons have been detained in this operation and some houses were raided by the police force in search of the alleged Maoists.
The security forces which have proceeded to Bhimpur on 18 June by clearing road from Pirakata left the stretch unguarded. Taking the opportunity, the villagers and the Maoists again put up barricade at five different places between Malida and Tirlakhali. They were confronted by the Maoists who gun fired at several places including, Pirrakhuli, Pingboni and between Pirakata and Bhimpur. Police were also forced to stop at various places due to suspect of landmine on the road or as the bridges were destroyed. Out of the six kidnapped CPIM members, dead bodies of four were found, taking the tally of death of CPIM party members in the post-election violence in Lalgarh area to 10. At about 19:45 IST, there has been a report of landmine blast near Pirakata Bazaar on SDPO's car in which two police personnel has been grievously injured. The state government has asked for more 6 companies of CRPF from the Central Government to assist the state police in the operation. At around 21:00 IST there was cross fire between the police and Maoists at Lalgarh Police Station. The Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
border near Ghatshila
Ghatshila is a census town in the Ghatshila CD block in the Ghatshila subdivision of the East Singhbhum district, in the Indian state of Jharkhand.
History
Legend says that the royal family of the Kingdom of Dhalbhum had originated from t ...
was sealed to stop the Maoists escaping into Jharkhand.
Day 3
Maoist Polit Bureau member Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji told over phone to the media that they are ready for negotiations only if the police forces are withdrawn from the area and apologize. The combing operation started around 7:30 IST on 20 June 2009 by the forces in search of Maoists through the Jhitka Jungle with mine protected vehicles. Jhitka was considered to be the most difficult part till now and the police were anticipating serious Maoist attack or landmines. The first group of the forces was able to reach Lalgarh Police Station, which was inaccessible to the forces since November 2008 at around 11:30 without facing any kind of resistance, where they have decided to set up a base camp and proceed to further interior areas.
Houses of two CPIM party members have been torched by the PCPA members in Baita near Jhargram., where the police force arrived and dispersed the attacking mob. An attack by the Maoists took place in Kadashole on the Eastern Frontier Rifles jawans, on the way from Goaltore to Lalgarh at around 16:15 IST. The ill trained police force was attacked with arrows and later with guns. The sudden attack left the police force stunned and they fled the area running for cover. In this confusion and panic, a landmine triggered off leaving 4 police injured in the whole incident. Later, the police returned with a larger force around 17:30 IST and put a strong gun battle for about an hour.
Day 4
There was no such operation, as the police wanted to fix the next strategy, four people were arrested near Khayer Pahari, while they were planting landmine on the road from Sarenga to Lalgarh. Some social activists and artists like Aparna Sen
Aparna Sen (, ''Ôporna Shen'') is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actress who is known for her work in Bengali cinema. She has received several accolades as an actress and filmmaker, including nine National Film Awards, five Filmf ...
, Saoli Mitra went to Lalgarh to overlook the real situation and talked with PCAPA secretary Chhatradhar Mahato
Chhatradhar Mahato ( bn, ছত্রধর মাহাতো) (born 1964) is an Indian political activist and convict from Lalgarh, West Bengal. He was the convener of the ''Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee'' ( – PCAPA) dur ...
, and appealed to both the state and the Maoists to shun arms and opt for a ceasefire till 14 July. Around 35,000 villagers in the Lalgarh area fled to other places for safety. Many villagers who have fled to several relief camps like in Pirakata complained of being beaten up by the police and sexual harassment to the woman. Trinamool Congress MP and Union ministers of state Sisir Adhikari
Sisir Kumar Adhikari (born 19 September 1941) is an Indian politician who represented Kanthi Lok Sabha constituency from 2009 till 2021. He is a former Union Minister of State for Rural Development in the Manmohan Singh government.
He was th ...
and Mukul Roy
Mukul Roy (born 17 April 1954) is an Indian politician from West Bengal belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress. He has also served as a Minister of State in the Shipping Ministry and later Ministry of Railways during the second UPA gov ...
went to Lalgrah to provide shelter to the villagers driven out of their homes by the security forces along the stretch from Pirakata to Bhimpur. They were surrounded by the CPM supporters complaining that why they did not come to their rescue when the Maoist-backed PCPA drove them out of the villages and not allowed to progress further.
Day 5
The Maoists called for a two long bandh starting from today in five states of India, including Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
, West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, Orissa
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...
and Chhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...
to protest the re capturing of Lalgarh in West Bengal by security forces. The security has been increased in these states and particularly in the three Maoist hit districts of West Bengal. Normal life was affected in the Midnapore district with a few buses plying on the road and most of the shops remained closed. In Purulia district, train services remained suspended on the Purulia
Purulia is a city and a municipality in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Purulia district. It is located on the north of the Kangsabati River.
Geography
Location
Purulia is located at . It has an average elev ...
– Chandil
Chandil is a census town in the Chandil CD block in the Chandil subdivision of Seraikela Kharsawan district in the state of Jharkhand, India.
Geography
Location
Chandil is located at . It has an average elevation of 246 metres (807&nb ...
section since 2:00 as a landmine was found planted on the tracks near Birandi station. Moreover, an anti-mine vehicle was affected in a landmine blast near Boramora jungle of East Singhbhum district
East Singhbhum is one of the 24 districts of Jharkhand, India. It was created on 16 January 1990. More than 50% of the district is covered by dense forests and mountains, where wild animals once roamed freely. It is known for being a centre of ind ...
in Jharkhand when the vehicle was on its way to Ghatshila which is bordering West Bengal.
The forces have decided to make a secured circle around Lalgarh and then proceed to the villages situated within that circle. The security forces advanced from the Sarenga route, securing the route towards Pingboni, near Goaltore. More CRPF forces, COBRA units joined the existing teams at Goaltore. A checkpost has been created at Ratanpur, near Pingboni by the PCAPA members to prevent the entry by the forces with bows and arrows and guns. The police force continued to patrol the already secured road from Pirakata to Lalgarh.
The Central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
declared CPI (Maoist) as a banned militant group in India keeping in mind the growing unlawful activities by the group, while Government of West Bengal
The Government of West Bengal also known as the West Bengal Government, is the subnational government of the Indian state of West Bengal , created by the National Constitution as the state's legislative, executive and judicial authority. The ...
said earlier in the day that it was against banning the CPI (Maoist) and will counter such outfits politically. After that the spokesperson of CPI (Maoist), West Bengal State committee, Mr. Gaur Chakraborty was arrested and charged with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at prevention of unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty o ...
on 23 June 2009 for having connection with Lalgarh movement.
Second phase operation
The second phase of the operation started on 26 June 2009 from Goaltore route towards Lalgarh.
Day 9
The forces are expected to cover the stretch up to Ramgarh in the first leg. The COBRA forces moved ahead of the forces at night to sanitise the area of the operation, armed with Sniper guns and night vision telescopes. They were able to reach up to Kadasole village facing tough resistance from the Maoists on the way. The forces were attacked by the Maoists with .22 country-made guns which kept firing at the security forces as they fled from the area. The forces including the six companies of the Central Reserve Police Force, two companies of the State police and two companies of the Indian Reserve Battalion
In India, the police forces of the states and union territories are responsible for law enforcement in the states and union territories.
History
The Police Act of 1861 established the principles of organization for police forces in India and, w ...
counterattacked the Maoists with mortars, light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the sam ...
s and AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
s. Helicopters were used for air surveillance and feeding the ground troops with the information about the Maoists. Satellite images from RISAT — I was also used to track the movements of the Maoists. The Maoists also blasted some landmines, some of the landmines and an IED were defused safely by the bomb disposal squad. There have been no report of any casualties from either side.
Day 10
The forces started the operation from Kadasole towards Ramgarh. They had to face resistance from the Maoists near Mahultol village on the way, an area surrounded by forests. The Maoists fired at the forces and blasted landmines, the forces counter fired at the Maoists with mortars. The progress of the forces stalled for some time due to rain and as landmines were found on the way which were detonated later. The forces were able to capture Ramgarh at around 15:00 IST, where they would establish another base camp. An office of the Leftist trade union AITUC
The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India. It is associated with the Communist Party of India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 milli ...
was burned down by the Moists when they were refused shelter in the building just before the security forces entered Ramgarh. They were greeted by the people who stood on the side of the road with smiling faces and offered drinking water to the forces. Another group of the force started moving from Lalgarh towards Barapelia village, where the PCPA leader Chhatrodhar Mahato lives, on the way to Ramgarh. However, the forces faced tough resistance near Aamdanga village, and had to return to Lalgarh.
Day 11
The forces patrolled the already claimed area in Lalgarh and discovered several IEDs and landmines. Two persons were arrested from Sarenga in adjoining Bankura district when planting land mines between Belepole and Kargil More. Explosives, detonators and firearms were recovered from them. Maoists also fired at around 01:30 IST from the jungles behind the police camp housed in Ramgarh High School taking advantage of the power cut in the area. However, the force switched on their search lights and fired back, making the Maoists to retreat back.
Day 12
The forces started a two pronged operation from Lalgarh and Kadasole towards Kantapahari.
References
External links
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Lalgarh, Our Stand
An English subtitled documentary on the Lalgarh movement
{{Paschim Medinipur topics
Conflicts in 2009
2000s in West Bengal
2009 in India
Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
Manmohan Singh administration