Midnapore: About 300-400 women, including
relatives of the deceased EFR jawans and their surviving
colleagues, on Tuesday demonstrated at Salua camp of the EFR
battalion near Kharagpur, blaming the state government for
failure to provide security to the 24 jawans who fell to
Maoist bullets.
The demonstration took place shortly after the arrival
of five West Bengal ministers, led by Finance Minister Asim
Dasgupta, to accord gunsalute to the deceased jawans at the
Salua camp tonight before the bodies would be handed over to
the relatives for last rites.
The demonstrators slammed the state police
administration for its "total failure" to provide security
to the EFR jawans and alleged that the personnel were not
adequately trained to face ultras "and were forcibly pushed
to face danger."
State`s Civil Defence minister Srikumar Mukhkerjee
said that the demonstration was natural and money could not
compensate for the loss of precious lives.
"We have come here to listen to their grievances and
we sympathise with them," he said.
Mukherjee said it was incorrect to assume that the EFR
jawans, killed in Maoist attack at Silda camp last night, were
not adequately trained.
PTI
