The Union home ministry sent three companies of the CRPF back to Jungle Mahal on Saturday and told the state government that more forces were on their way, a relief for Nabanna amid intelligence reports of Maoists regrouping in the area over the past few months.
The Bengal government had objected to the Centre’s decision of pulling out 20 companies of a total of 49 from Jungle Mahal in two phases last year, first ahead of Lok Sabha polls and then immediately after Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir was revoked.
“Three companies of CRPF personnel have returned from Jammu and Kashmir today (Saturday). We have sent them to Purulia where they took over charge of two camps,” said Pradeep Kumar Singh, inspector-general of CRPF in Bengal.
Two companies of CRPF have taken positions in two camps in Purulia and the third company comprising women is at Jhargram.
“Presence of central forces in the area is important as we want to ensure that the Maoist problem does not rear its head in the state. We are continuing our communication with the Centre to get more central forces in Jungle Mahal. We expect to get back a few more companies in near future,” said a senior Nabanna official.
Sources in the state home department said that Maoist activities were causing concern for the Bengal government with reports that the banned outfit was trying to regroup in Jungle Mahal by crossing over from Jharkhand. As the state is headed for a key election next year, there are chances that the Maoists would try to make their presence felt through subversive activities, said an intelligence source.
“These groups generally try to create unrest ahead of polls... So, security has to be intensified in areas where they have traditionally been active,” said the source.
According to intelligence reports, on September 3, some tourists noticed a group of seven suspected Maoists, including three women, near Dhangikusum village in Belpahari. The suspected Maoists were reportedly carrying firearms and had their faces covered. Virendra, director-general of police, visited Jhargram on Saturday to take stock of the ground situation.
“It is clear that the state administration has taken up reports of Maoists entering the areas seriously. In a situation like this, additional central forces would help the state in dominating the areas in an efficient way,” said an official.
Sources in Nabanna said that the Bengal government has repeatedly urged the Centre to send central forces.
“The repeated communication with the Centre seems to have worked and it is expected that more companies of CRPF could be sent back to the state in next few days,” said a source.
A senior CRPF officer said that at least two more companies were on their way back to Jungle Mahal from Jammu and Kashmir and they would be sent to some camps in Purulia, which are being manned by the state police these days.
Not only in Jhargram, Maoist activities have been reported from several other places as Maoist posters have been seized from different areas of Purulia and West Midnapore as well.
There were intelligence inputs that the Maoist held several meetings for fresh recruitments ahead of Independence Day this year.
“Cross-border activities by the Maoists are the main cause of concern now. The CRPF can do this work properly as they are trained for such work. We hope that the CRPF personnel can prevent their activities," said an official.
