Police-CRPF lock horns over 'renewed' maoist threat in Jangalmahal

The 10-kg landmine recovery from Kushbani Forest in Jhargram district of Bengla has not only fuelled renewed fear of Maoist insurgency at Jangalmahal and its adjoining areas but has also given rise to a battle between the state police and the Central forces.

The Jhargram District Superintendent of Police Bharati Ghosh has gone a step ahead by labelling it as a 'fabricated incident' by the Central Paramilitary Forces who are trying to disrupt the peace of the region and earn brownie points by making such seizures.

Central forces and the state police are now at loggerheads over the issue of extremist scare after the recovery of a landmine in the maoist infested area in West Midnapore.

The landmine was found at the Kushbani forest of Binpur late on Thursday night. The adjoining roads were cordoned off and the CRPF personnel in a joint operation with the CoBRA force combed the entire area before defusing the bomb timely and successfully.

"It was very dangerous to diffuse the mine at night due to vehicular movement in the adjoining road, we waited the night out and cordoned off the place and in the morning after the CoBRA forces arrived, we diffused the landmine." said CRPF Deputy Commandant Bijay Kumar Mullick of 165 Battalion , adding that the mine was new and must have been planted a few days ago.

The CRPF suspected it to be the handiwork of the Maoist in the region as such discoveries of landmines have been common in the region.

The heavy explosives could have caused a blast leading to severe casualties.

However, the claims of the paramilitary forces have been brushed aside by the state police officials specially SP Bharati Ghosh who has gone to the extent of calling it a concocted incident.

Ghosh has often courted controversy due to her unabashed proximity to Trinamool Party Chief Mamata Banerjee.

During this year's state assembly elections she was restrained from visiting the poll booths by the Election Commission after charges of bias were filed against her.

Thus at a state government organized event in the district it didn't really came as a surprise when Ghosh heaped praises on the Chief minister, even in her absence.

But what one did not see coming was the fact that the police chief quite scathingly called the landmine discovery as false and fabricated set up to disrupt the peace of the district.

"Please do not believe everything that you hear or see, not all of them are true. As the SP of the district, I can assure you that there is no unrest in the area and whatever that you have been seeing for the past 2 days is an entirely fabricated incident. Jangalmahal is happy, at peace. "said Ghosh, while addressing the audience at the event in Midnapore town.

Quick to train guns at the Centre, albeit indirectly, she further added, "This entire phase of development, the fact that there's so much of good happening under Mamata Banerjee has not gone down well with some people. They are just trying to think of ways through which they can disrupt the peace here."

Even though the state police might just try and sweep it under the rug for now, surveillance in the region has been tightened with forces combing the area on a regular basis.

The political differences between Trinamool Congress ruling in Bengal and BJP led government in the Centre are not a secret.

However, it is shocking to believe that a police official raises finger at the Central Paramilitary Forces who have been instrumental in maintaining peace in the region and are looked upto when it come to area domination and combing operations against the Maoists.