Lalgarh revolt rows, Centre asks LF to act

Lalgarh, which has been a CPI(M) bastion for almost 30 years, continued to burn on Wednesday as the much-awaited Central forces were unable to flush armed Maoist cadres out of the so-called "liberated zone" in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.

Mobs allegedly led by Maoists went on a killing spree in neighbouring Jhargram, slaughtering three CPI(M) cadres. West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee is expected to discuss the situation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday.

As violence escalated in the state, under Marxist rule for three decades, Union home minister P. Chidambaram said it was time the state administration took action. The Centre said while paramilitary forces might provide a supporting role, it was primarily the job of the state police to tackle the situation in Lalgarh.

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Buddhadeb and Paswan escape big mine blast

West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union steel, chemicals and fertilisers minister Ram Vilas Paswan narrowly escaped a landmine explosion at Baruahati in Maoist-infested West Midnapore district on Sunday afternoon.

The explosion, allegedly by Maoist outfits, has exposed the failure of the West Bengal police and its intelligence wing in ensuring foolproof security for VIPs. Six policemen travelling in the Union minister’s pilot car were injured in the explosion. Two of them were admitted to Kolkata’s AMRI Hospital Sunday evening.

“It is a serious incident. Two policemen are in critical condition,” the chief minister said.

The explosion took place when the pilot vehicle (WB-62-5647) in Mr Paswan’s convoy was passing the Kalaichandi canal area at around 2 pm. “The four-wheeler was tossed in the air by the impact and left mangled.

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