Maoists try to block Jangalmahal youths' entry into police

KOLKATA: The Maoists in Jangalmahal are active again. Now, they are beginning to work against Mamata Banerjee by desperately trying to block the recruitment of 10,000 youths from this region into the state police department, as the chief minister had announced on July 13.

The Maoists have realised suddenly that if Banerjee carries out what she has said, it will be difficult for them to exist in West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura, since local youth would know the terrain as well as they do, and with the additional confidence of being policemen, they would simply flush out Maoists from everywhere and annihilate them.

Last Friday, Maoists held an open meeting at Pathra village, under Lalgarh Police Station. They told the local youths not to collect application forms for jobs in the police, and if they did, threatened them with dire consequences. Banerjee had asked the youth of Jangalmahal to collect such forms from the BDO and SDO offices.

Senior home department officials in Writers' Buildings said they are aware of the Maoists' moves and operations to flush them out in the Lalgarh area have been intensified.

Meanwhile, in a show of strength, Maoists on motorcycles gunned down a Trinamool Congress worker, Lalmohan Mahato at Pukuria village under Jhargram police station area on Tuesday. Mahato was a primary school teacher and leader of Janajagaran Manch, formed by Trinamool Congress to combat Maoists politically. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, now in north Bengal, reacted sharply and warned the red ultras.

Trinamool will hold a protest rally at Jhargram on September 24 and Union Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy is likely to address the rally.