Naxalites break ceasefire, attack CRPF jawans

The Naxalites on Thursday broke their three month long self-proclaimed ‘cease fire’ by opening fire on a CRPF patrol at Salboni, West Medinipur. They not only attacked the CRPF jawans, but also engaged them for quite some time.

According to police officials, the engagement continued for more than half an hour, left one jawan wounded.

Taking advantage of the forest cover the Naxalites fired upon the CRPF jawans when they came out of their camp for a routine patrol. Later the Naxalites retreated in the forest. The CRPF claimed later that they suspect some Naxalites were injured as there was some blood trail in that area. No one was arrested from that area.

Incidentally, on November 2, 2008 the Naxalites detonated a landmine in the chief minister’s convoy in Salboni, after which the Junglemahal rose against the state police force and the Naxalites successfully organized them in People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA). The joint force started operating against the Naxalites in June 16, 2009.

Thursday’s action is significant as the Naxalites had suspended their activities against the police force in Junglemahal ever since the assembly election was announced. Later, when Mamata Banerjee became the chief minister of the state, the Naxalites concentrated their focus on putting pressure on the government in releasing their activists from various state prisons under the scheme of general pardon.

The Mamata Banerjee government also offered them the olive branch by asking the joint force to show restrain and initiating an informal talk with some of the leaders who are at present in jail.

Sujato Bhadra and some other human right activists went to Medinipur jail and had a series of meetings with leaders like Chhatradhar Mahato and the state secretary of the CPI (Maoist) Sudip Chongdar (alias Kanchan). The Naxalite leaders also proposed to come out from underground and take part in a formal peace talk with the government provided they are given assurance of a safe passage.

Two weeks back, one of their leaders issued a statement saying that they have unilaterally announced a cease fire and expecting the state government to reciprocate that.

However, on Thursday’s incident indicates that there has been some rethinking in their ranks. The DG of West Bengal police Naparajit Mukherjee recently observed that since the Naxalites have a number of splinter groups, the police should be prepared for any such development. A member of the chief minister appointed committee which took initiative in initiating talks with the Naxalite leaders, admitted that on Thursday’s incident definitely damaged the prospect of peace a great extent.