Two Maoists arrested in Bengal

KOLKATA - Two Maoist rebels, including a woman involved in an attack on a paramilitary forces’ camp in February in which 24 troopers were killed, were arrested Friday in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district, police said.

“Sambari Tudu alias Sama and Hapna Murmu were arrested early Friday from an area between Salboni and Lalgarh. They were brought before the district court, which remanded them to seven days police custody,” said West Midnapore Police Superintendent Manoj Verma.

“Earlier we arrested Maoist leader Dilip Mahato and during interrogation he spilled the names of Tudu and Murmu and also disclosed their whereabouts. Early Friday we conducted a raid and arrested them. Some detonators, land mines and Maoist literature were also recovered from them,” Verma told IANS over phone.

“Tudu was wanted in several cases including the attack on an Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) camp at Silda Feb 15, in which 24 EFR jawans (troopers) were killed. Murmu was accused in several cases in Dharampur area,” he added.

Tudu was identified as one of the three women who, disguised as tribal snake dancers, went inside the EFR camp to conduct a recce before the attack took place, Verma said.

“The three-member dancing troupe went to Silda market near the EFR camp in the morning Feb 15. They danced and collected money from the local people. Later they requested the EFR troopers, who were cooking their meals, to provide them with food. They entered the camp, ate and left the spot around afternoon. The camp was attacked in the evening,” said Verma.

Meanwhile, an hour-long gunfight between Maoist guerrillas and the joint forces took place at Birhari forest in Jhargram but no injury to any security personnel was reported, said Jhargram police district chief Praveen Tripathi.

“The rebels present in the forest attacked our men who were on patrol and conducting routine search operations. They retaliated and we suspect that four-five Maoists must have been injured in the counter-attack,” he said.

Maoists are active in three western districts of the state - West Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura.