West Bengal police may have failed to conduct drill

NEW DELHI: The centre, concerned that a possible lapse of the road opening personnel may have caused the landmine blast on a VIP convoy carrying West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union steel and mines minister Ram Vilas Paswan through the Naxalite-infested West Midnapore, has sought a report from the West Bengal government on the incident.

According to senior MHA sources, inputs reaching the Centre indicated that specific duties had been allotted to around 1,500 state police personnel to sanitise the route of the VIP convoy, including detection of possible land mines through the road opening drill. The need to thoroughly check the route for possible IEDs, a normal practice followed ahead of movement of leaders who are under a specified category of protection, also acquired urgency as
West Midnapore is a known Naxalite-infested district.

But the fact that the security personnel deployed for the purpose failed to spot the landmine or the nearly 2-km wire attached to it, the officials here feel, calls for an explanation from the state government on whether there was a lapse on part of the policemen assigned the task of sanitising the route much before Mr Bhattacharjee and Mr Paswan���s vehicles were to pass.

The West Bengal government is expected to put forward the sequence of events leading to the landmine blast and answer questions regarding alertness levels of the security personnel on duty.

Though it is not clear as to who was the target of suspected Naxalites who triggered the blast, the Centre is certainly concerned as one of the likely targets, Mr Paswan, is not only a Union minister but also a Z category protectee. This categorisation requires a certain security paraphernalia to be provided by a state government everytime he travels within its jurisdiction.

There were clear indications on Monday that Mr Paswan���s threat perception may be reviewed by the Union home ministry and his security upgraded from Z to Z-plus. Z-plus would bring him into the elite club of former deputy prime minister L K Advani, UP chief minister Mayawati and her predecessor Mulayam Singh Yadav, all of whom are protected by elite NSG Black Cat commandos.

The assurance of enhanced security to Mr Paswan came from none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had a word on Monday with the LJP leader. ���The prime minister has assured me that the needful will be done to enhance my security,��� Mr Paswan confirmed to ET.

Immediately after the blast, LJP had demanded Z plus security for Mr Paswan, saying that the blast was nothing but an attempt to assassinate him as Maoists had attacked him earlier and even blown up his house in Bihar.
Vice-president Hamid Ansari and Union home minister Shivraj Patil also called up Mr Paswan earlier in the day to inquire about his well-being.