A CID team inspects the spot in Burishole where Kishan’s body was found. (Sayantan Ghosh)

Nov. 27: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party have begun the task of preparing Bengal and supporters for a possible strikeback by the Maoists after the killing of Kishan.

Mamata today spoke for the first time in public on the encounter, neither naming Kishan nor appearing triumphant but stressing that the security forces had offered him the option of surrender and had to act to avert a spectacular attack in Calcutta or elsewhere in Bengal.

“They were to carry out a big-scale terror act, like an attack on a Metro station or market complex. The police have got the evidence,” the chief minister told an election rally in Calcutta this evening.

Mamata also referred to a threat to her life, saying the rebels were planning to eliminate her and other Trinamul leaders. The chief minister did not list specifics but her comments suggested she was keen to dispel suggestions that Kishan was killed in a stage-managed encounter as some critics have alleged.

“I was in Delhi and didn’t know what had transpired that day. The police have told me they had waited three days expecting they (the Maoists) would surrender. Safe passage was offered to them if they surrendered. Announcements were made on the megaphone. But they didn’t listen. If the police hadn’t acted as they did, at least 500 villagers would’ve lost their lives. They fired around 1,000 rounds,” she said.

It is not clear what Mamata meant by “safe passage” — which can involve permission to walk away — or whether she wanted to say “surrender”. Police sources in West Midnapore said they were not aware of any plan to offer the Maoists a safe passage.

The police could not confirm the other numbers — the possibility of 500 casualties and the Maoists firing 1,000 rounds — but Mamata’s objective appeared to be to keep the people on their toes and convince them that her new responsibilities demanded action.

“If the administration gets to know that a terror activity is being planned, will it remain a mute spectator? Would you have forgiven such an administration? If such an incident takes place in Behala, will the people spare me?” she said.

The crowd responded with an emphatic “no”. She asked the people of Behala to watch out for three or four Maoist sympathisers active there.

Mamata justified the encounter on a day Maoist posters appeared for the first time since Kishan’s death, in Goaltore and Jhargram towns in West Midnapore, saying “Kishanji amar rahe (long live Kishanji)” and “Bhairab bahini hushiyaar (beware, Trinamul’s armed men)”.

Trinamul leaders asked workers and supporters to be on their guard, laying down dos and don’ts that included advice against provoking the rebels. “We have asked our party workers and supporters not to provoke the rebels,” said Dinen Roy, district Trinamul president.

The district leadership has asked Trinamul workers in Jungle Mahal not to organise meetings and rallies after dusk and not to open their doors to strangers at night.

“We have asked our workers not to organise meetings and rallies in the village squares and market places and not venture out at night. We have told them that if any stranger comes, not to open the door without verifying their identity. If some of our workers feel they are under threat, they can stay elsewhere at night. They should ensure that only their family members know about it,” said a Trinamul leader.

The Intelligence Branch (IB) fears that some guerrillas might slip in from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to execute operations intended to lift the morale of their supporters in Bengal.

The central committee of the CPI (Maoist) today issued a statement to call a protest week from November 29.

“A 48-hour bandh across the country will be observed on December 4 and December 5 in protest against the brutal murder of comrade Mallojula Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji by the fascist group of Sonia-Manmohan Singh-Chidambaram-Mamata Banerjee,” Abhay, spokesperson for the central committee, said in a statement circulated through text messages.