Security forces enter Lalgarh to end Maoist control

Security forces today entered Lalgarh to reclaim it from Maoist-backed tribals and were closing in on the police station there.

The personnel of paramilitary forces and the state police were just two km away from the Lalgarh police station, which is under Maoist control, a senior police officer said.

The securitymen from CRPF, BSF, State Armed Police, Eastern Frontier Rifles and the Kolkata Police entered the besieged area after crossing a five-km stretch of the Jhitka forest, a Maoist stronghold, he said.

They were moving in armoured vehicles fitted with anti-landmine devices and mortars and were carrying mine-detecting units.

The security forces were moving cautiously for the last two days to avoid civilian casualties. They checked the route with mine detectors yesterday as tribals blew up a bridge and set off a landmine in a bid to stall their advance.

AK-47 and Insas rifle-toting securitymen came under intermittent fire from Maoists at the Pingboni-Sarenga road today, Superintendent of Police Burdwan Humayan Kabir said.

Two landmines planted on the road, which was also blocked with felled trees, were defused, Kabir, who was leading one of three teams headed for Lalgarh from Binpur, said.

Another two teams were led by IGP (HQ) Harmanpreet Singh and Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ranvir Kumar.

A bridge over a shallow river which had been blown up earlier by Maoists created a temporary obstacle, but it could be crossed on foot. Last night, the Maoists fired on the Lalgarh police station, with the police retaliating.