Kantapahari (WB), June 29
Security forces today took control of Kantapahari, setting up a police camp after four years in the hub of Maoist-backed tribal agitation, with the West Bengal Government claiming that 95 per cent of the areas have been wrested from the ultras in West Midnapore district.

Jawans greet each other after their success in the operation against Maoists at Katapahari in West Midnapore district on Monday. — PTI

Around 1,600 personnel of paramilitary forces, police and CoBRA, the special anti-Naxal force, reached Kantapahari from both Lalgarh and Ramgarh ends as a helicopter kept an aerial vigil.

The Maoists set off a landmine and fired at the security forces in a forested area between Pirakata and Lalgarh but the troops retaliated.

DIG CID (Special Operations Group) Siddhinath Gupta said here that the forces were now in full control of Kantapahari. A police camp had existed here till 2005 but was withdrawn. “A camp will be set up here after all these years.”

In Kolkata, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said the joint forces had been able to liberate nearly 95 per cent of the areas. The operations had been bloodless with no major encounter.

Security forces reached Boropelia village, home of People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities convenor Chhatradhar Mahato, leader of the group spearheading the agitation, but he remained elusive. He had been spotted in Kantapahari yesterday.

However, the police was confident that they would soon arrest him soon. “We will arrest him (Mahato),” DIG (Midnapore Range) Praveen Kumar said.

He said the operations had not ended. “Entering Kantapahari was part of it.” The forces, comprising the CRPF, BSF, State Armed Police and India Reserve Battalion, set out at around 7 am from Lalgarh, secured on June 19 in the first phase of the operations and Ramgarh, taken over last Saturday, a senior CRPF officer said.

The police would remain till normalcy was restored, the chief minister was quoted as saying by PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami after a cabinet core committee meeting.

The chief minister also assured the ministers that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act under which the Centre recently banned the Communist Party of India (Maoist) would not be used indiscriminately.

Midnapore district police superintendent Manoj Verma said: “People have come forward to cooperate. We hope this cooperation will continue. We will establish the rule of law.” Kantapahari and surrounding villages of Boropelia, Chottopelia and Dalilpur Chowk, were the places where the tribals backed by Maoists had launched their agitation in protest against police atrocities in November last year following a landmine blast in which Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and two Union Ministers had a narrow escape.

The Maoists went on the rampage targeting ruling CPM cadres and offices and had virtually taken control of a large area in West Midnapore district after driving away the police and paramilitary forces.