Kolkata: The West Bengal government on Tuesday
said that it expected the Centre to extend the deployment of
para-military forces at Lalgarh beyond September 4, saying
it was a 'genuine requirement.'
"As of now, the Centre has extended deployment of the
para-military upto September 4. We, however, expect them to
extend the deployment further. This is a genuine requirement,"
Home Secretary Ardhuendu Sen told newsmen.
The state government, however, was yet to hear from the
Centre in this regard, he said.
Sen's statement came a day after Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in a written speech at the Conference
on Internal Security in Delhi yesterday, called for an
anti-Maoist operation in Jharkhand in tandem with the ongoing
joint operations in his state.
Bhattacharjee had noted that there was a 'significant'
increase in Left extremist violence in the state this year and
that 18 police stations across three districts were affected
by Maoist violence.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 23:11