Maoist bandh call disrupts normal life in West BengalSeptember 30th, 2009 KOLKATA - A Maoist sponsored 48-hour shutdown disrupted normal life in West Bengal on Wednesday. Shops, educational institutions and business establishments remained closed in Jangalmahal area of West Midnapore district.
Maoists backed tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato arrested in LalgarhSeptember 27th, 2009 LALGARH - An elusive tribal leader Chhatradhar Mahato, who has been spearheading an agitation since November last year against alleged police excesses in West Midnapore's troubled Lalgarh area, was arrested here on Saturday. Mahato, leader of People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), which has been spearheading agitation against alleged police atrocities, was nabbed from Pirka region, near Lalgarh village.
Suspected Maoists kill two people in West BengalAugust 23rd, 2009 SAKHABANGA VILLAGE - Two members of the Maoist Resistance Committee (MRC) in Sakhabanga village, 50 kilometres from Lalgarh in West Bengal's Midnapore district were found dead on Sunday. It is suspected that Maoists killed the two, who were active members of the recently formed committee to resist Maoist activities in the area.
Lalgarh scene of violence again by MaoistsAugust 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.
Two killed by suspected Maoists in West BengalAugust 5th, 2009 LALGARH - Suspected Maoist guerrillas Wednesday killed two villagers in the trouble-torn Lalgarh region of West Bengal, police said. These two killings now take to six the number of people killed by the Leftist ultras since the West Bengal police and central paramilitary forces began a joint operation to flush out the Maoists from Lalgarh in West Midnapore district.
CPI-M leader among two killed by Maoists in LalgarhAugust 2nd, 2009 LALGARH - A Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader was among two people killed by suspected Maoists in and around this trouble-torn belt of West Midnapore district early Sunday. Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Kuldip Singh told IANS that 15-20 left wing extremists raided the house of CPI-M leader Nepal Mahato in Amdanga village of the Lalgarh-headquartered Binpur-II community block and slit his throat after dragging him out on the road.
Maoists incite Lalgarh villagers to protest against deployment of security forcesJuly 31st, 2009 LALGARH - Maoists provoked Lalgarh villagers to protest against the deployment of security forces since they reclaimed the Maoist held 'liberated zone.'
The Maoists were evicted from the trouble-torn Lalgarh region at June 20 after an almost week-long joint operation by the State and Centre's elite security forces. But the villagers have continued protests since, demanding the security forces to retreat to normal days, a move which officials apprehend is a ploy to give the Maoists a foothold again.
Two suspected Maoists arrested in LalgarhJune 28th, 2009 LALGARH - Security forces on Sunday arrested two suspected Maoists and defused seven landmines from Lalgarh, while flushing out the Maoists hiding around the troubled area of West Bengal's West Midnapore. Five landmines were recovered from Binpur, while two more were found near Kargil junction at Bankura district, said Raj Kanojia, Inspector General of Police.
Security forces reclaim Kadasole from Maoists near LalgarhJune 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.
Troops advance from Lalgarh toward Maoist-held villagesJune 21st, 2009 LALGARH - Personnel of the CRPF, BSF and West Bengal police on Sunday started moving from Lalgarh to Ramgarh in an operation aimed at sanitising the main road and other connecting routes and wresting control of the 17 villages. According to sources, the 19-km journey from Lalgarh, which the troops reclaimed on Saturday, is likely to be one of the toughest as the road has been mined.
Maoists display their dominance to media in LalgarhJune 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - A convoy of 20 media vehicles, presspersons on board, came in for a shock on Saturday evening when a group of Maoists surrounded them and took them away from the State Highway into Maoists infested villages, according to reports received here. The armed Maoists did not allow the mediapersons to operate their cameras and asked them to abide by directions on route.
Police take back Lalgarh from MaoistsJune 20th, 2009 LALGARH - Security forces in West Bengal's Midnapore on Saturday declared to have regained control over the troubled Lalgarh area of West Bengal. According to Director General Of Police, Midnapore, Praveen Kumar, they have regained control of Lalgarh, which was captured by Maoist rebels in one of the most brazen attacks in recent years.
Central forces begin operation against Maoists in LalgarhJune 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.
Maoists put up human shield to blockade LalgarhJune 17th, 2009 Lalgarh (West Bengal) (ANI): The Maoist have blocked access to Lalgarh in West Bengal putting up a three tier human shield, including women and children to prevent entry of central paramilitary forces, who are planning free the area from them. According to police sources, the Maoists have formed a three-tier human shield with women and children in the vanguard, men behind them and armed naxals at the rearguard.
West Bengal police to sniff out Maoists from Lalgarh before pollsMarch 25th, 2009 KOLKATA - Police will carry out a combing operation to sniff out Maoist rebels from the tribal-dominated Lalgarh region of West Bengal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, an official said Wednesday. 'We will be sending police forces to Lalgarh before the April-May elections to search out Maoists guerrillas in the region so that polls can be conducted in the district peacefully,' West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters here.