West Bengal prepares blueprint for Lalgarh operation

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government Thursday held a high-level meeting with senior police officers to prepare a roadmap for carrying out further joint operations in trouble-torn Lalgarh, a top official said.

"We held talks with senior police and district officials on how to conduct the Lalgarh operation in the coming days. We discussed the modus operandi of the joint forces and how to resolve the security problem in this Maoist-affected region," state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters after emerging out of the meeting in West Midnapore district.

He said the state government would also appeal to the centre not to withdraw the central paramilitary forces from Lalgarh after Sep 4.

"We've taken some specific decisions today (Thursday)," Sen added, but did not divulge the details.

Lalgarh, about 200 km west of Kolkata, has been on the boil since November last year when a landmine exploded on the route of the convoy of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada.

Alleging police atrocities after the blast, Maoists along with the People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCAPA) launched an agitation and made the area a virtual "free zone" by torching police camps and offices of the ruling CPI-M and driving out the civil administration.