Bengal Govt to set up more police stations in Maoist areas

Kolkata, Jun 15 (UNI) The West Bengal Government will set up 16 new police stations, including nine in the extremist-affected districts Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announced in the state Assembly today.

Replying to a question, the Chief Minister said the police stations would come up across seven districts, including Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore, where the underground Maoist militants had been active for quite some time.

Mr Bhattacharjee said the Government had already provided upgraded arms and ammunition and infrastructure to the police to strengthen security measures in the Maoist-affected areas.

The announcement came in the wake of a series of murders and explosions by extremists in Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore districts, bordering Jharkhand in recent times.

Yesterday, a local CPI (M) leader Rabi Das was shot dead at Belpahari in West Midnapore district. Over the past one year, a number of CPI (M) workers and policemen had been killed by the alleged Maoists, often resorting to guerilla attacks and explosion of land mines in this hilly region.

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