Lalgarh a free zone of Maoists

Lalhgarh, June 16 : Armed Maoists overran vast areas of Lalgarh in West Bengal after police fled the region, turning several villages into a free zone of the rebels who torched their empty camps and offices of the ruling communists.

The Maoists turned their ire on a ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader's shiny new house, seen as a symbol of corruption, by demolishing it in full glare of the media and then followed up with a press confernece to claim they are on the forefront of the uprising in the area.

In the past week, the Maoists abducted and killed several communist activists in the region.

The Maoists said they had conspired to kill the chief minister of West Bengal in November last year.

Lalgarh in West Midnapore, about three hours' drive from state capital Kolkata, is witnessing a tribal unrest, allegedly backed by the Maoists, after alleged police high-handedness on villagers in November following a mine blast on the convoy of several Indian ministers.

The Maoists have strong influence in the region where a turf war raged since last year between the ruling communists and People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), a tribal outfit formed to resist the cops.

'We are on the forefront of the Lalgarh movement, not behind. We want to execute chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee by hanging.

'We tried to award him a death penalty on Nov 2 last year by triggering a mine on his convoy,' CPI-Maoist leader Bikash told reporters in a daylight press conference at Lalgarh yesterday.

'The people are angry and we (the CPI-Maoist) are playing the role of a midwife by turning that anger into action,' he said.

With an AK 47 rifle slung across his shoulder, he also oversaw the demolition of a CPI-M leader's house.

Turning his back to the TV cameras, he addressed the press.

'We are sending additional forces to control the situation. We are close by,' West Bengal Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia said.

The Maoists also vandalised CPI-M party offices.

Meanwhile, several bodies wrapped in white sheets lay unclaimed in Lalgarh. Villagers said the dead were all CPI-M activists.