Kolkata: A jawan of joint security forces
was critically injured on Wednesday when Maoists fired at a patrol
party on routine combing operations at Birihari forest area in
West Midnapore district on the first day of two-day Naxal-
sponsored bandh.
Ajay Gupta, a jawan of assistant sub-inspector rank,
was rushed to Midnapore medical college hospital in a serious
condition, police said.
Security reinforcements were rushed to the area to
flush out the Maoists, they said.
Security has already been tightened at all CRPF camps
and posts in the Maoist-dominated Jangalmahal area after the
Naxal attack that killed 26 CRPF personnel yesterday in
Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
The shutdown called by the Maoists against alleged
police atrocities has seriously affected life in Jangalmahal
area comprising West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts.
Though trains were plying, surface transport came to a
halt in the area, they said.
Offices, schools and colleges as well as business
establishments remained closed and police patrolled the areas.
Maoists posters were found at Binpur and Belpahari
areas of West Midnapore district in support of the shutdown.
Meanwhile, a police hunt was on for the assailants of
Phulchand Mahato, a Class X student, whose body was found at
Belpahari yesterday.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, June 30, 2010, 12:17