Kolkata, Oct 20 (Inditop.com) Armed Maoists killed a police sub-inspector and abducted two others in a daring daylight raid on a police station in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district Tuesday. The rebels also looted money from a nearby bank and left posters demanding the release of a jailed Maoist leader.
A group of around 100 left-wing rebels attacked the Sankrail police station under Jhargram sub-division and shot dead the second officer Sub Inspector Dibakar Bhattacharya, who was in his seat, before kidnapping the Officer in Charge Atindranath Dutta and Assistant Sub Inspector Swapan Roy, police sources said.
Owning up responsibility for the raid, Koteswar Rao alias Kishanjee, top leader of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) issued a threat to kill any senior police officer of the rank of director general or inspector general if they ventured to the area.
“Yes, we conducted the raid. We killed the police officer and abducted the OC. And if the director general or any inspector general rank police officer goes there to free the OC, we will shoot them dead also,” Kishanjee warned.
Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Kuldeep Singh confirmed the raid by the rebels.
According to police sources, the police were heavily outnumbered in the assault and many fled.
The motorcycle-borne Maoists decamped after looting money from a bank close to the police station and pasted posters demanding the release of arrested tribal leader and People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) leader Chhattradhar Mahato.
Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee convened an emergency high-level meeting at the state secretariat Writers’ Building which was attended by the chief secretary and senior police officials.
A large police force has left for the remote spot, but has not been able to reach as Maoists have reportedly planted landmines along the way.
Dibakar Bhattacharya is the first police officer to be killed by the ultras after the West Bengal government launched a massive security operation to flush out Maoist rebels from Lalgarh, 200 km west of Kolkata, in June. The Sankrail police station is located to the south of Lalgarh and close to the state’s border with Jharkhand and Orissa.
