The battle lines have been drawn. The final assault on the 45-sqkm Maoist-held “no-police zone” in Lalgarh, just 1 km east of Lalgarh police station where security forces are stationed, is likely to begin on Friday.
Inside the no-police zone, about 500 Maoists — including 150 who have reportedly sneaked into the area over the last few days — armed with guns, bows and arrows have taken up defensive positions.
Following a green signal from the state government, about 700 CRPF personnel stationed at the district headquarters of Midnapur town, 45 km away, arrived in Goaltor, 30 km west of the no-police zone, on Thursday and began preparations.
About 200 CRPF men have reached Sarenga, 55 km southwest of the Maoist-held area.
Through the day, senior officers of both the central and state police held a series of closed-door meetings at the recently-liberated Lalgarh police station to finalise the battle plan.
The security forces have sanitized all routes to the police station. A mine detecting team checked all culverts and bridges along the road, but could find no booby traps.
Groups of 15-20 armed security personnel could be seen standing guard at intervals of 500 metres. Each group was within eyesight of the next. An armoured mine detecting vehicle was also stationed there.
{{/usCountry}}Groups of 15-20 armed security personnel could be seen standing guard at intervals of 500 metres. Each group was within eyesight of the next. An armoured mine detecting vehicle was also stationed there.
{{/usCountry}}“We have given strict instructions to ensure that innocent villagers are not harassed,” said a senior official of the state police who is part of the strategy formation team on ground zero.
The state government wants to avoid a repetition of Nandigram, where 14 villagers died in police firing and sparked off a state-wide erosion of the Left Front’s support base.