Chhatradhar Mahato on Sunday. (Amit Datta)

Calcutta, April 5: The tribal outfit resisting police in Lalgarh today said it would allow polling personnel to enter the area without cops but the government ruled out holding elections in the Maoist hotbed in the absence of security forces.

Home secretary Ardhendu Sen said the police would have to enter Lalgarh before the polls. “Police personnel have to be sent to Lalgarh before the elections. Without their presence, the elections cannot he held in the area,” he said while reacting to the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities’ assertion that it would prevent the police’s entry into West Midnapore’s Lalgarh at any cost.

At a news conference in the Calcutta, committee leader Chhatradhar Mahato said: “The home secretary is repeatedly threatening us saying the police would enter the area before the polls. But we are not scared. Our people are all set to face and resist the police operation. Thousands of women will be at the forefront of our barricades. The men will be behind them.”

Mahato, whose outfit is believed to be backed by Maoist guerrillas camping in Lalgarh and training tribals in the use of firearms, said he did not understand why the police were essential for the polls. “We want the polls. The state government is saying the elections can’t be held without the police because polling personnel wouldn’t dare to come to Lalgarh. We assure them that we will take care of their security. The members of the committee will escort them to polling booths and back.”

“We want the polls because the people of Lalgarh are waiting to caste their votes against the CPM,” he added.

The resistance group was formed after a series of police raids in search of suspected Maoists after a mine blast on the chief minister’s route in early November. Children were detained and women allegedly hit with rifle butts.

“We used to be scared every night fearing police raids. Now we are not,” Mahato said.