Sankrail (West Bengal), Oct 21 (Inditop.com) Amid scattered furniture and blood stains, an uneasy calm prevailed at the Sankrail police station area Wednesday – a day after Maoists carried out a daring attack, killing two officers and abducting another.
Even as police recovered one landmine and a metal pot containing Maoist posters near the violence-hit area in West Midnapore district, the streets wore a deserted look. Most shops and roadside kiosks were closed, with normal life almost coming to a halt.
“One landmine and a metal pot containing Maoist posters were recovered between Sankrail and Kultikari areas.
“In the posters the Maoists demanded the immediate release of People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) leader Chattradhar Mahato,” Inspector General (Law and Order) Surajit Kar Purakayastha told IANS in Kolkata.
A group of around 50 Left-wing rebels, riding motorcycles, abducted the Sankrail police station Officer-in-charge Atindranath Dutta at gunpoint from his quarter and brought him to the police station. There the Maoists shot dead sub-inspector Dibakar Bhattacharya and assistant sub-inspector Swapan Roy, and looted 19 firearms before whisking away Dutta to their hideout on a motorcycle.
Another group of rebels looted about Rs.1 million from the Kesiapata branch of the State Bank of India during the 15-minute operation led by two women Maoists.
According to eyewitness account, an electric wire and a metal pot were found lying on a road at Kultikari. Another metal box along with Maoist posters was also found close to the spot.
Purakayastha said police forces have been sent to the area where the metal pots were spotted.
According to sources, a clean-up drive has already been taken up to put the ransacked police station back in shape. Additional police forces have also been deployed.
State Law Minister and the local legislator Rabilal Moitra went to Sankrail police station area Wednesday morning to monitor the situation.
Dibakar Bhattacharya and Swapan Roy are the first police officers 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, under the Jhargram sub-division, is located to the south of Lalgarh and is close to the state’s border with Jharkhand and Orissa.
