Belpahari, Nov. 20: A road blockade inspired by the Lalgarh backlash has made a 16km stretch out of bounds for police and gifted Maoists a safe corridor from Jharkhand to Bengal.

Villagers have blocked the road between Belpahari and Banspahari to express solidarity with the campaign in Lalgarh against alleged police atrocities. The police have said the Lalgarh protest has been hijacked by the Maoists.

It is not clear whether the Belpahari blockade had been laid two weeks ago to aid the extremists but they have ended up the biggest beneficiaries and the police the losers, sources said.

The police used to patrol the road in West Midnapore right up to the Jharkhand border to stop the rebels from sneaking in. But for the last two weeks, they could not proceed beyond Belpahari, about 22km from the state border. The villagers have placed tree trunks all along the stretch.

“This area, a CPI (Maoist) stronghold now, plays a key role in keeping the Lalgarh protest alive. As we are not clearing the logs to avoid provoking the tribals, anyone can do anything there after crossing over from Jharkhand,” said Prasanta Gayen, the officer in charge of Belpahari police station.

“We have information that outsiders are entering from Jharkhand through the Belpahari road and heading towards Lalgarh (60km away) through Binpur,” said an intelligence branch official. The rebels move through the forests on the two sides of the road.

Sasadhar Mahato, the prime accused in the November 2 blast that struck a convoy of Union ministers, is roaming in the area, the Maoist leader’s brother, Chhatrapati, said.

The first trunk blocking the road is placed not more than a kilometre from Belpahari police station.

The entire 16km stretch is deserted. In places, boulders have been placed. Even the narrow paths off the main road have been blocked with logs.

This correspondent saw around 500 tribals gathered with arms near Banspahari.

Asked how they earned their livelihood as they had stopped working, Jamuna Hembram said: “Those who love us take care of us.”

More roads, including one that was repaired, in Lalgarh and Jhargram were dug up today. The tribals have placed a series of demands, mostly linked to police repentance, some of which have been termed “unrealistic” by the government.