Paramilitary forces in WB recover cache of arms from Maoist area

Lalgarh: Paramilitary forces in West Bengal recovered cache of arms including country made pistols and rifles buried in a farm land in a Maoist affected area on Sunday.

A local, Ashok Pratihar said that the people involved in the killings of 2011 managed to escape from the area and set up camp elsewhere. "Khaliluddin was involved with Netai mass killing operation and then he with his team escaped from Belatikri Panchayat (village council) office where they set up a Harmad gang camp," he said. Six country made pistols and four rifle were recovered by joint forces in the Maoist hotbed of Lalgarh district in eastern West Bengal state. In 2011, a horrific massacre occurred in Netai village, in Lalgarh district of West Bengal state, killing at least seven people including two women who were allegedly shot dead by the CPI (M)`s private armed brigade (Harmad Vahini) while they were protesting against Vahini`s attempt to force young men from their village to join the armed brigade. Early in the morning CRPF were made aware of the existence of arms in the farming land of a CPI (M) Harmad gang chief Khaliluddin. Later Lalgar police and CRPF joint forces recovered six country made pistols, four rifles and began search operation in nearby areas suspecting more hidden arms. In the past couple of years, the Maoists have stepped up their efforts against the government as well as the locals, after the people complained that Maoist activities such as killings and abductions increased considerably in the area. Maoists have significantly increased their presence in tribal and rural regions in the states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha. The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of millions of landless labourers and marginal farmers. However, the government has termed them to be the nation`s main internal security threat and an obstacle to growth in Asia`s third-largest economy. The Maoists have killed police and politicians, and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in an insurgency that has killed thousands since the 1960s. ANI