Security forces consolidate position after taking Ramgarh

MIDNAPORE (WB): After wresting control over Ramgarh, the largest Maoist stronghold in West Midnapore district, the security forces today moved to nearby villages to flush out the ultras.

"We are going to villages surrounding Ramgarh and consolidating our position and reassuring the people that they were now free from the fear of Maoists," Burdwan Assistant Superintendent of Police Humayun Kabir told PTI.

Asked when the next phase of the operations would begin, Kabir said, "It's difficult for me to say."

Meanwhile, security forces were manning pickets every half kilometer on the road connecting Salboni and Ramgarh, recaptured yesterday. Vehicles were being stopped and searched and people were being asked to show identity proof.

DIG CID (Special Operations Group) Siddinath Gupta when asked if the forces would resume operations during the day, said, "It is not likely to happen, but it all depends on the situation."

The first phase of the operations were launched on June 20, when the central para-military forces and the police drove into Lalgarh police station and made it their base of operations.