W. Bengal Government worried about continued Maoist threat, says State Home Secretary

Kolkata, Aug 6 (ANI): The West Bengal Government on Thursday expressed concern over the situation in Lallagarh, as relentless murders and kidnapping continue to rock the region where the combined forces had launched an operation one-and-a half month's ago to clear the area of Maoists.

Talking to reporters at the Writers' Buildings here, West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said the government is worried, as despite the presence of joint forces, the situation in Lalgarh has not improved as was expected.

"We convened a meeting with senior officials of the CRPF, BSF and the district officials. You know that we got a remarkable success in the first phase of the operation. But after that, the result has not been according to our expectation," said Sen.

"The State Government is worried about the success of the (security) operation, with top Naxal leaders still roaming free. The 40 companies of the joint force has made little gain," he added.

Sen further added that their major endeavor was to arrest Maoist leaders, which they have terribly failed to achieve.

"We wanted to arrest the armed Maoist leaders and drive them out from Lalgarh. But in two cases, we did not get a positive result. As a matter of fact, for the past few days, murders and kidnapping have been taking place. Government is worried over the situation," added Sen.

A high level meeting was convened to assess the situation and chalk out future strategies.

Sen further informed that the force would not stay in Lalgarh permanently.

"The purpose is the forces would not stay permanently. We are thinking how this force can be used in a time-bound program and to improve the situation in the next 15-20 days," he added. (ANI)