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Lalgarh : One year on, West Bengal's trouble-torn Lalgarh is still yet to come of the Maoists' clutches. The region -- once boastfully sanitised by the central forces in a series of joint operation -- is largely dominated by the red rebels who have taken over control in the barren territory of the state's three western districts.
The police and security forces are a minority there.
Lalgarh police station in West Midnapore district -- located about 200-km west of Kolkata -- looked like a fortified embassy building, locked up from inside, with snipers all around aiming at the enemy forces from dawn to dusk.
If somebody needs to enter the police station area he must send his authorised information through a police messenger. And given permission, only one person -- flanked by armed security personnel -- can enter at a time.
'We always live in tension. The entire region is totally dominated by the Maoist ultras. Our presence here is completely insignificant.
'Unless political process starts, it's really difficult for us to regain control over this Maoist forces,' said an officer of Lalgarh police station preferring anonymity.
Explaining the security situation at the ground-zero, he said: 'We cannot go outside after evening and we always check information of the person who comes to register complaint or meet any personnel at the police station. We have to be constantly on alert.'
Lalgarh has been on the boil since November, 2008 when a landmine went off on the route of the convoy of state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada.
Alleging police excesses, the Maoists along with the a local tribal body -- People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCAPA) -- launched a prolonged agitation against the police and state administration turning the area into a virtual 'free zone'.
They torched police camps and offices of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the region driving out the civil administration from the area.
The state government had to call for central paramilitary troopers as the situation went completely out of proportion. Central paramilitary forces were deployed in Lalgarh and its adjoining areas in June last year (2009) to flush out Maoists from the 'virtually-liberated zone'.
Niranjan Sahu, 70, of Pirakata recalls the horror of a combined police operation against the Maoists in Lalgarh last year.
'I was beaten up mercilessly by the security personnel. They broke open our house and beat us up. My wife Dipali was also hit on her head and she started bleeding profusely in front of me.'
Maoists have an active presence in the state's three western districts -- West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.
Ridding on the issues of underdevelopment, acute penury and social deprivation of the tribals, the red rebels have successfully created a long red corridor stretching through the dense forests and inhospitable terrain of three western districts of the state.
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Lalgarh police station in West Midnapore district -- located about 200-km west of Kolkata -- looked like a fortified embassy building, locked up from inside, with snipers all around aiming at the enemy forces from dawn to dusk.
If somebody needs to enter the police station area he must send his authorised information through a police messenger. And given permission, only one person -- flanked by armed security personnel -- can enter at a time.
'We always live in tension. The entire region is totally dominated by the Maoist ultras. Our presence here is completely insignificant.
'Unless political process starts, it's really difficult for us to regain control over this Maoist forces,' said an officer of Lalgarh police station preferring anonymity.
Explaining the security situation at the ground-zero, he said: 'We cannot go outside after evening and we always check information of the person who comes to register complaint or meet any personnel at the police station. We have to be constantly on alert.'
Lalgarh has been on the boil since November, 2008 when a landmine went off on the route of the convoy of state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and then central ministers Ram Vilas Paswan and Jitin Prasada.
Alleging police excesses, the Maoists along with the a local tribal body -- People's Committee against Police Atrocity (PCAPA) -- launched a prolonged agitation against the police and state administration turning the area into a virtual 'free zone'.
They torched police camps and offices of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in the region driving out the civil administration from the area.
The state government had to call for central paramilitary troopers as the situation went completely out of proportion. Central paramilitary forces were deployed in Lalgarh and its adjoining areas in June last year (2009) to flush out Maoists from the 'virtually-liberated zone'.
Niranjan Sahu, 70, of Pirakata recalls the horror of a combined police operation against the Maoists in Lalgarh last year.
'I was beaten up mercilessly by the security personnel. They broke open our house and beat us up. My wife Dipali was also hit on her head and she started bleeding profusely in front of me.'
Maoists have an active presence in the state's three western districts -- West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.
Ridding on the issues of underdevelopment, acute penury and social deprivation of the tribals, the red rebels have successfully created a long red corridor stretching through the dense forests and inhospitable terrain of three western districts of the state.
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