Maoists plan return to Jangalmahal

The Red rebels are planning a return to Jangalmahal - the forested terrain in western part of West Bengal. While the green belt was freed of the Maoist stranglehold after the Mamata Banerjee government took over in 2011, it seems the rebels are regrouping in the area and have been secretly holding meetings with villagers having Maoist leanings.

According to district intelligence sources, Maoists are again trying to establish their lost spaces in villages located along the West Bengal-Jharkhand and West Bengal-Odisha borders in West Midnapore district. Suspicious activities were noticed in various blocks like Nayagram, Gopiballavpur, Lalgarh, Jamboni and Binpur under the Jhargram sub-division where the Maoists have made significant efforts to resurface in the past few months.

It was learnt that Maoist guerrillas held several meeting with the villagers enquiring about the status of various state government schemes and promises made earlier by the Mamata Banerjee government. These meetings were held secretly with those people who once supported the Maoist movement in the forested belts.

While Jamboni and Belpahari (in Binpur-II) fall along the Bengal-Jharkhand border, Nayagram and Gopiballavpur are located near the Bengal-Odisha border.Sources said these Maoist squad members have been visiting the villages in the dark, holding meetings with the villagers and again going back to other side of the borders in the dead of the night. "As of now there is no specific report of a possible armed strike. But the Maoists are trying to sneak into the villages riding on local discontent against the state administration. During the monsoon, it is easier for them to move easily under the green cover," sources said.