Maoists offer talks as cops reclaim Lalgarh

Indian paramilitary soldiers stand guard as villagers return after watching a helicopter transporting administrative officers at Lalgarh, in the Midnapore district, some 120km west of Kolkata yesterday. Photo: AFP

Maoist extremists were willing to talk to West Bengal's Communist government in the presence of the "intelligentsia" if the operation against them in Lalgarh were stopped, a senior leader said on Tuesday as forces continued to sanitise the area and prepare for the next phase of security action in nearby Ramgarh.
"If the operations are withdrawn and the intelligentsia takes the initiative, we are prepared to hold talks with the government. Of course, representatives of the intelligentsia have to present during the talks," Maoist leader Sagar told the Star Ananda Bengali news channel.
Two days ago, a group of anti Left Front intellectuals, including filmmaker Aparna Sen and theatre personalities Kaushik Sen and Shaonli Mitra, had visited Lalgarh, just about 200km west of state capital Kolkata, and called for a ceasefire after holding discussions with people and groups active in the former rebel-held enclave where the state had virtually abdicated its role to hundreds of Maoist extremists.
Security forces, which began their operations six days ago and have succeeded in establishing control over Lalgarh, on Tuesday intensified patrolling in view of the 48-hour shutdown called by the Communist Party of India-Maoist and continued sanitising the area.
Security forces, comprising the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its specialised anti-Maoist team CoBRA (Combat Battalion for Resolute Action), Border Security Force and the armed police, are likely to be joined by 1,000 more central paratroopers by Tuesday night.
A police source said a full-scale march to Ramgarh, 22 km from Lalgarh, where the Maoists had torched a police camp and driven out the civil and military administration earlier this month will begin after the reinforcements arrive.