Play safe: No night trains in Maoist-hit areas yet

6 December 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 6 DEC: The death of Maoist leader Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji in an alleged encounter with the security forces may have sent a message to the state government that the Left-wing movement has been tamed in West Bengal, but the Indian Railways seem to have a different opinion.
The authorities of the Indian Railways, who were once keen to restart night trains, at least partially, in Maoist-hit areas of the state soon after the Trinamul Congress came in power, are now not eager, especially along the routes of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia.
Night operations of Express trains were suspended after last year’s Jnaneswari Express derailment where 150 persons were killed and several others injured. Till date the night services have not been resumed fearing another Maoist attack. Five Mail or Express trains ~ three daily and two weekly ~ have been rescheduled following suspension of night operations to avoid troubled areas of Jhargram in West Midnapore and Purulia.
A few days ago, a section of railway authorities met Home ministry officials to discuss resumption of night trains along Kharagpur-Tata section, but within 48 hours, the station master at Bhagabangola in Murshidabad had received threats over phone about a “hit” on the Sealdah-Lalgola Hazarduari Express.
But, incidents like the one in Bhagabangola, which prompted the Railways to halt the 13114 Down Hazarduari Express and inspect tracks besides alerting security agencies, have made officials apprehensive. “Incidents like this make it difficult to run any operation in certain pockets,” said an official.
“The South Eastern Railway had deployed additional RPF commandos and was running pilot locomotives at night, but even after the death of the Maoist leader, we are very much apprehensive of a retaliation from the rebels,” a senior railway official in Kharagpur said.
A senior police officer, however, said, “The coordinated operations by the Central and state police in Junglemahal gradually started gaining ground and the Maoists have already been cornered. The death of Kishenji indicates that they had little space to fall back. But now the government will have to make serious effort to improve the life of tribals in all these Naxalite-hit areas in the state. Otherwise, the problem might raise its head in coming days again.”
“Once we are confident, we will immediately start running of trains during night hours,” the officer said.

Maoists attack Jharkhand ex-Speaker’s convoy; kill 10 

biswabrata goswami

3 December 2011

MIDNAPORE, 3 DEC: In what appears to be the first act of retaliation for the killing of Maoist leader Kishenji in Burisole forest in the Junglemahal area of West Bengal, Maoists attacked the convoy of former Jharkhand Speaker and MP Mr Inder Singh Namdhari, killing eight policemen and two civilians, including a child, at Ladu More in Jharkhand’s Latehar district today.
At least five people, including three jawans, were also injured in the attack and they have been admitted to hospital in serious condition. One policeman is said to be missing. The dead policemen include an assistant sub-inspector. Palamau SP Mr Sudhir Kumar Jha said two among the four injured policemen, who were admitted to a hospital in Medininagar, later succumbed to their injuries.
The rebels triggered an IED blast and then opened fire on the security vehicles which were escorting the former Jharkhand Speaker from Chatra parliamentary constituency. “Mr Namdhari who was returning from a function at Mahuatand escaped unhurt, but at least eight security personnel and two civilians were killed in the attack” said Mr RK Malik, inspector general of police (operation), Jharkhand. According to police, Maoists attacked Mr Namdhari's convoy between Garu and Lalbhar. A bus in the vicinity also came under Maoist fire. An six-year-old girl who was injured in the cross-fire succumbed to her injuries in a hospital where she was taken along with the other injured. Mr Namdhari said: “I was returning from a programme and security officials were escorting me. When my convoy was crossing a bridge near Ladu More, I heard an explosion behind my vehicle. We didn’t stop the car. The policemen were in the car behind us and weren’t able to move as fast as us.” Condemning the attack, he said: “I was busy in public work. The rebels are not willing to accept our development efforts. Such heinous crimes would not be accepted by the people”.
Mr GS Rath, state director-general of police, said: “The Maoists triggered an IED blast and then opened fire on the security vehicle which was following Mr Namdhari’s car at Ladu More. Eight security personnel and two civilians including a child were killed in the attack”. According to police sources, the bodies of eight policemen have been recovered but one policeman is stated to be missing. “Following the attack, the government has issued a red alert across Jharkhand and security has been beefed up at key places,” a senior police officer said. This attack came on the eve of a two-day Bharat Bandh called by the CPI (Maoist) to protest against the killing of top leader Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji in West Bengal on 24 November.

Plastic bag ban to reach panchayats

biswabrata goswami

2 December 2011

TAMLUK, 2 DEC: Concerned about the widespread use of plastic carrier bags and the resulting environmental pollution across the state, the West Bengal government recently issued a notification extending the ban on the use of plastic carrier bags less than 40 microns thick down to the level of panchayats across the state.
Before this most recent announcement, the plastic carry bags ban had been issued in all municipal and corporation areas in the state; the state government now seems to have felt the needs to deal with this problem at the panchayat level, said Mr Mamud Hossain, saha-sabhadhipati of East Midnapore zilla-parishad.
“This time, the environment department is serious about enforcing the law with the help of panchayats," said Mr Hossain. "And it has directed the panchayats to enforce this ban in a month’s time." Mr ML Meena, principal secretary of the state environment department and chairman of the state Plastic Management Committee has therefore issued an order asking all panchayat authorities to work with the police to impose spot fines on offenders.
According to the rules, traders using banned plastic will be fined Rs 500 while their customers will be fined Rs 50.
A panchayat samity member in Tamluk said that it would take a joint effort to deal with the problem: "It is practically impossible for panchayats alone to enforce the ban. The police must take action. Although the law has a provision to impose spot fines on offenders, there is some confusion about this."
"Waste management is the biggest problem and people living in villages have no proper knowledge about the problem. So awareness should be created, before imposing fines," he said. "Tackling the problem, though, is an urgent priority. People should dispose of the waste they generate at their houses by adopting technologies developed by various agencies."
Mr Hossain said, “The government is also working on a plan to phase out plastic carrier bags, which should be replaced by bags made of degradable materials. The problem of waste management in big cities is not of the same nature as that in panchayats. High-end technologies are now being considered by cities such as Kolkata to manage the problem."
Pointing out that some states had already banned the use of plastic carrier bags, an official at the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) said that the indiscriminate use of the bags clogs the drainage system and leads to water-logging and floods. “Plastic waste also prevents the natural aeration of the land and water bodies and hampers agriculture and pisciculture. Coloured or recycled plastic carry bags are hazardous to human health. Even animals die by inadvertently ingesting plastic carrier bags,” the officer said.
The WBPCB had already banned the use of these bags of any kind in ecologically sensitive areas like the Sunderbans, coastal and forest areas in the state and the district of Darjeeling. Heritage sites and 50 metres off the bank of the Ganga river is also off-limits for the bags. Bu the recent effort to extend the ban to the level of panchayats will not only improve the situation but also create awareness among the rural populace, said the WBPCB officer. 

New strategy for Maoists?

29 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 29 NOV: Faced with aggressive government campaign against the wanton killings that have become the hallmark of their strategy, and against their sympathisers, the Maoists seem to be engaged in a re-think on using violence in the “class struggle”.
Indications of a possible change in their stance come at a time when both the Centre and state government have been aggressively attacking intelligentsia, supporters and human rights activists for espousing the Maoist cause, branding them as mere terrorists who had no ideological backing behind them.
In a re-think of the strategy of ‘individual killing’, a section of Maoists is trying to stress on mass movement by reviving its defunct organisations and forming units in new sectors based on priority.
Accordingly, a section of Maoists hiding in the Belpahari area of Jhargram in West Midnapore has formed a cooperative society called as Janasadharaner Krishi Samabay at Patharchapri village. In a leaflet (see sns photo) which was recently circulated among farmers of various villages in Belpahari, Kishan, a central committee leader of the CPI (Maoist), said: “This cooperative is now in a rudimentary stage. The main motto of this cooperative is to help the farmer; not to earn profit. Apart from this, it will help to protect the farmers from touts and mahajans”. The Maoist leader also claimed that farmers living in 14 villages in and around Patharchapri have joined the new cooperative. A Maoist leader on condition of anonymity said: “More cooperatives will be formed in Junglemahal in future as our leadership is now stressing on mass movement before going in for armed struggle against state oppression.”
“Individual killings, which are not the strategy of Maoists, have created a rift between the people and Maoists. A section of Maoists that is already detached from the party is still collecting money from people and they often kill people. But as the Maoists had started mass movement first in Junglemahal, the responsibility of each and every killing goes to the party,” said the Maoist leader. Intelligence agencies have already sent reports of the new developments to the Central government. According to reports, several youths in Belpahari have taken up arms training, albeit without weapons.  “The rebels stress on forming secret party units in the farming community first in the rural areas. Their main focus is that of mass political mobilisation by inculcating leadership qualities in the rural working class,” said a senior official.

Kishenji had host of acts lined up, reveal documents

28 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 28 NOV: Maoist second-in-command Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji, who was gunned down in an encounter by the security forces at Burisole forest on 24 November, had been camping inside the Parihati forest range in Jamboni for the past 15 days to observe the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) week in December.
This has come to light from the documents recovered by the security forces from the encounter spot at Burisole forest. “A lot of letters, a pen-drive and computer hard discs were seized from the spot which suggest that the top Maoist leader had come from Orissa at least 15 days ago and he was to organise a state committee meeting before observing the PLGA week here,” said Mr Alok Rajoria, additional superintendent of police, Jhargram, who had also taken part in the 24 November operation.
“As the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has started a probe into the “killing” of Kishenji, we have already handed over all documents seized from the site to them and they are now examining the documents,” he said. A senior CID official said: “The PLGA’s week-long celebration starts from 2 December each year. As the party had become quite weak due to the security forces’ massive operations in Junglemahal, Kishenji, who was also the party’s central military commission member, perhaps felt that it would be an ideal period to chalk out offensive strategies against the security forces’ operations.”
In a document seized from the site, Kishenji had written that he had come to convene sessions with the rebels in West Midnapore to strengthen the rank and file of the organisation as part of the week’s programmes, a CID official said.
Two days ago, a Maoist party insider told The Statesman from an undisclosed location that Kishenji had come to attend a state committee meeting which was scheduled for 22-23 November inside the Parihati forest range at Jamboni in which Kushboni and Burisole forests fall. “He was to dislodge the acting state secretary, Akash, from his post and to declare his decision over the inquiry regarding the killing of the party’s leader, Sasadhar Mahato. Akash was blamed of supplying information about Sasadhar to police,” said the party insider.
Besides, another of his important task was to prepare the assassination blueprints of top political leaders, including the chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee, a state Intelligence Bureau (IB) official disclosed. With these goals in mind, Kishenji had camped in Junglemahal for the past 15 days, he added. Examining the documents, the officials of the state Intelligence branch and  the IB of the ministry of home affairs has come to a conclusion that Kishenji had a plan to show video clippings of “heroic” deeds of their cadres, who lost their lives fighting the security forces, to the tribal people with an eye to garner their support.

Conspiracy theory points finger at Akash

25 November 2011

biswabrata goswami
BURISOLE (West Midnapore), 25 NOV: At a time when the killing of top Maoist leader Kishenji raised a controversy with his supporters and some political leaders alleging that he was eliminated in a fake encounter, some party insiders of Maoists have also raised fingers at their party’s acting state secretary Akash for ‘conspiring’ with police to track down the rebel leader.
Akash, who was given temporary charge as the party’s state secretary following the arrest of former state secretary Sudip Chongdar alias Kanchan in December 2010, had developed " a sharp difference of opinion" with Kishenji, said a party insider from an undisclosed location.
The reasons ~ Akash was supposed to be dislodged from his temporary charge at a state committee meeting which was scheduled for 22-23 November inside the Parihati forest range at Jamboni in which Kushboni and Burisole forests fall.
An investigation into the death of Sasadhar Mahato was conducted under the leadership of Suchitra Mahato, wife of Sasadhar, in which Akash was blamed for supplying information about the hideouts of Sasadhar to police. Because of his specific information, security forces had been able to track down Sasadhar and kill him in an encounter.
Kishenji came to Junglemahal recently to attend the party’s state committee meeting and he was to declare his decision on these two vital issues. After realising that his political fate could be sealed, Akash tipped off police about Kishenji’s whereabouts, a rebel said.
The Maoist cadre argued "it is impossible that any of his security guards did not die while a top Maoist leader was killed. Kishenji had four strategic security cordons with heavy assault rifles protecting him. Then how could security forces kill the top leader, without any more bloodshed." Sources close to the rebels also said Akash was very much jealous about Sasadhar since he was a natural leader and he held sway over party activists. Though Sasadhar was not the party’s state secretary, the party members always  respected him and followed his instructions which enraged Akash.
Intelligence officials of different agencies have also corroborated that Kishenji sneaked into the forest to attend his party’s state committee meeting. "We were overwhelmed when we came to know that Akash was not present at the meeting. As we had specific information of the meeting, security forces had cordoned off the Kushboni forest on Tuesday, but the rebels managed to escape from the area. On the next day, we came to know that Kishenji and his accomplices could have taken shelter in Burisole forest and we launched an operation there," a senior police officer said.

Cong leaders shaken & stirred

19 November 2011

tirthankar mitra/biswabrata goswami

KOLKATA/MIDNAPORE, 19 NOV: While the Congress rank and file has been stirred into action a day before a convention on panchayats in the city, a section of the party's senior leadership has been shaken by chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee's warning yesterday, asking the party party to decide whether it wants to remain in an alliance with Trinamul Congress. The leaders giving pep talks to the party workers tomorrow may witness disagreements between those activists loyal to pro-Trinamul leaders and those frustrated with playing second fiddle to the dominant alliance partner. The latter, though are sure to be buoyed by Union rural development minister Mr Jairam Ramesh’s statement, made in Midnapore town today, that the Congress party has not taken voluntary retirement in the state.
What riled Miss Banerjee was a Congress rally from Hazra to Mayo road in the city yesterday protesting against attacks on Congressmen in the state. The procession in the heart of a Trinamul stronghold has been a shot in the arm for Congress activists in the city, but Miss Banerjee felt it was a conspiracy planned to have maximum impact on the by-election in Kolkata (south) parliamentary constituency scheduled for 30 November.  But local Congress leaders said that it is perfectly normal for a political party to organise processions, and it was Congress' right to make its presence felt. Mr Jairam Ramesh, who visited several villages in Junglemahal in West Midnapore to look at the implementation of the Centre’s Integrated Action Plan scheme, echoed the sentiment, telling mediapersons, in the presence of Trinamul MP and Union minister of state for rural development Mr Sisir Adhikari: “Congress is a political party and it has every right to conduct a meeting and rally. Congress has not given VRS in this state.”
Mr Ramesh is among the leaders ~ others include Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Shakeel Ahmed ~ who will address Congress workers at tomorrow’s convention, that, apart from taking up panchayats-related issues, is expected to focus on the need to shore up Congress' grassroots support, and prevent their organisationally stronger ally from ousting them.
Mr Ramesh, during his trip to Junglemahal, visited Bhalukhonia, Salboni, and various areas in Lalgarh and Jhargram, where he interacted with villagers. He said several development projects are planned for Junglemahal, including the construction of 1,800 km of village roads.