The massacre of policemen by Maoists at Shilda in West Midnapore district of West Bengal is a great setback for Operation Green Hunt, state DGP Bhupinder Singh said on Tuesday. “But we are determined to continue the operation,” he told reporters after visiting the devastated Eastern Frontier Rifles camp.
The Bengal government admitted that the onslaught on policemen happened because of intelligence failure and a security lapse. It also said the attack would hit the morale of the combined forces personnel working to flush out Maoists from the state.
“We will have to review the situation and identify the lapses,” state chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakroborty said. The state will submit a report to the Centre on Wednesday. A high-level central team will visit Shilda on Thursday to take stock.
After questioning eyewitnesses, police have come to know that the 60 Maoists who attacked the camp were led by a woman. Police suspect she is top Maoist leader Jagori Baske, who had also led the Sankrail operation in October 2009, kidnapping police inspector Atindranath Datta.
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