Central Reserve Police to remain in Lalgarh

West Midnapore, Oct 20 (ANI): CRPF Director General K. Vijay Kumar has said the Para- military forces will remain in Lalgarh and operations against Maoists will be intensified if necessary in West Bengal.

Talking to reporters after meeting force's local commanders and senior Bengal police officers here on Tuesday, Kumar said: "The operations against the Maoists would continue and the central forces would remain. If necessary, the operations will be intensified".

He further said: "I visited Lalgarh and Midnapore to assess the ground-level situation and see how effective the co-ordination was between the CRPF and the state police. The understanding among the forces is good. We looked at ways to take it forward."

Meanwhile, Chief secretary Samar Ghosh Ghosh said the State government was ready to allot 10 acres of land for the eastern zone headquarters of the CRPF at Jyoti Basu Nagar.

He also said the State government was going to allot 120 acres to the CRPF for setting up its operational hub. At present, the CRPF's operational hub for eastern zone is located at Jamshedpur.

"We kept aside a few plots of land for NSG hub, and we will give one of them to the CRPF," Ghosh added.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has asked for the withdrawal of the para-military forces from Naxal affected areas of West Bengal (ANI)