Maoists trigger landmine blasts in West Bengal

August 21st, 2009 LALGARH - A landmine blast and road blockades marked third day of shutdown call by Maoists in West Bengal. Maoists gave an indefinite shutdown call on Tuesday in West Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia districts of the state, demanding withdrawal of security forces from Lalgarh and protesting alleged police excesses on villagers in tribal dominated areas.

August 17th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Maoists have called an indefinite shutdown in three tribal-dominated districts of West Bengal from Tuesday, police said here Monday. "An indefinite shutdown has been called by the Maoists in three districts -- Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore from tomorrow (Tuesday)," West Bengal Inspector General (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purkayastha told IANS.

June 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has told his Cabinet colleagues that his government would not indiscriminately use the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, under which the Centre banned the Communist Party of India (Maoists). PWD Minister Khiti Goswami has quoted Buddhadeb as saying at a meeting of the Cabinet Core Committee formed to tackle the Maoists problem in the state.

June 26th, 2009 LALGARH - Security forces on Friday reclaimed control over Kadasole village from Maoists, located north of Lalgarh in West Midinapore district, during phase II of ongoing operations against the naxals who set off two landmine blasts. Led by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the troops including jungle warfare expert and personnel of the Indian Reserve Battalion and State Armed Police, who were helped by a helicopter, exchanged fire for 45 minutes with the Maoists who later fled the village, said a senior CRPF official.

June 22nd, 2009 KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Monday accused West Bengal's ruling Left Front of being in cahoots with the Maoists saying the Communists had used the rebels to win the polls in the western districts. "The Left used Maoists to rig the elections and now they are saying Maoists helped the Trinamool.

June 21st, 2009 LALGARH - Four suspected Maoist guerrillas were arrested Sunday evening when they were allegedly trying to plant a landmine at Khayerpahari in Bankura district of West Bengal. The men were nabbed from near a canal in the area close to the inter-district border between West Midnapore and Bankura, police sources said.

June 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram today asked the Maoists to lay down arms and come forward for negotiations.

June 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Members and supporters of the Communist Party of India-Marxists (CPI-M) staged a sit-in demonstration in national capital on Thursday to protest against the violence by the Maoists in the West Medinipur ditrict of West Bengal. "As far as Maoists are concerned these are gangs who believe in violence.

June 18th, 2009 LALGARH - The West Bengal Police, supported by central paramilitary forces, initiated the operation to flush out Maoist from Lalgarh in West Midnapore District of West Bengal. It was the forth day, since the red brigade captured nearly fifty villages in and around Lalgarh, which is nearly 150 Km from the state capital Kolkatta, and declared it as the liberated zone.

June 17th, 2009 NEW DELIHI - The Congress Wednesday said the Maoist violence in West Bengal is condemnable but is the result of prolonged misgovernance and subversion of democracy in the state by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). What Maoists are doing is condemnable....it is the result of misgovernance and the mistakes that the Left have done during its regime of 32 years in West Bengal.

June 12th, 2009 BOKARO - Carrying out a second major strike in last three days, Maoists killed at least nine policemen and injured 10 others in an attack on a Public Sector Unit bank and a subsequent landmine blast in Jharkhand's Bokaro city on Friday. The Maoists, who are observing a Bandh in six States including Jharkhand, attempted to loot the State Bank of India (SBI) branch at Phusro after money was brought there from the Bermo branch of the bank, said Bokaro's Superintendent of Police, L.

June 10th, 2009 CHAIBASA - Eleven policemen were killed and three others injured when Maoists triggered off a landmine blast in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum District on Wednesday. According to police officials, the incident took place at around 8:30 a.m.

April 30th, 2009 KOLKATA - One paramilitary trooper was injured in a landmine explosion in West Bengal's Maoist-hit Purulia district while the Lok Sabha polls were underway Thursday, the police said. 'One central paramilitary force jawan was injured in a low-intensity landmine blast in Balarampur area.

April 30th, 2009 KOLKATA - Two landmines planted by suspected Maoist guerrillas to target poll officials exploded in West Bengal's Leftist insurgency-hit areas on the voting day Thursday causing injuries to a security person. 'One central paramilitary force jawan was injured in a low-intensity landmine blast in Balrampur area (in the Maoist-affected Purulia district).

April 22nd, 2009 RANCHI/PATNA/KOLKATA - Maoist insurgents went on the rampage in the eastern states of Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal Wednesday, hijacking a train, blowing up buildings, setting trucks on fire, killing a truck driver and triggering landmine blasts. Around 200 Maoist rebels hijacked a train carrying over 400 passengers at Hehegada railway station in Jharkhand's Latehar district.