Maoists offer to 'compensate' kin of slain CRPF men

KOLKATA: Upping the ante, Maoists on Sunday issued a fresh threat warning of more Dantewadas in West Bengal if the Centre carried on with its offensive. “We will attack and destroy roads and rail links used by the joint forces to conduct operations.

The Centre from where they are planning the operations will not be spared,” said the statement, written on the CPI (Maoist) letterhead and signed by ‘Bikram’.

In an obvious bid at psychological warfare, the Maoists expressed sympathy with the families of the
76 CRPF and police personnel killed by them in Dantewada, and offered ‘‘compensation’’ to the slain personnels’ families.

The Maoists claimed that none of their senior leaders, including Kishanji, was injured or killed in encounters with security forces. They also denied that Abhishek Mukherjee, alias Bikram, a dropout of Jadavpur University, was killed in a gunfight with CRPF last month.

The letter dated April 8 and sent by post rubbished reports of casualties in the rebel leadership, calling them ‘‘rumours’’ and a ‘‘conspiracy by police’’.

The rebels asked the CPM and Trinamool leadership to ‘‘raise their voices against the state-run operation against tribals in Jangalmahal”. They threatened to target people who supported the security forces.

The Maoists blame Union home minister P Chidambaram for the violence and bloodbath. ‘‘We are still open to talks. Lift the ban on our party and try to solve the problem on the talks table.

Release the hundreds of innocent people who are dumped behind bars and slapped with false cases,’’ said the statement.

While expressing sympathy with the families of the deceased CRPF and police personnel gunned down by their comrades in Dantewada, the CPI-Maoist said it was ready to ‘‘compensate’’ them. ‘‘We also want people to come out and offer financial aid to them,’’ the statement said.