Calcutta, Nov. 15: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is stitching together the same team of police officers that had spearheaded Operation Lalgarh in June 2009 to tackle the fresh challenge posed by Maoists in Jungle Mahal. After appointing former West Midnapore police chief Manoj Verma as SP of the Counter-Insurgency Force, whose primary task is to tackle the Maoists, the state government has written to the Election Commission seeking its permission to transfer S.N. Gupta, special IG, Presidency Range, as IG, CIF, before the elections to the Calcutta South Lok Sabha constituency on November 30. Officials at Writers' Buildings said that even though Presidency Range falls outside the Calcutta South Lok Sabha constituency, his appointment as IG, CIF, would trigger a chain of transfers, including those from Calcutta police, to fill the vacancy. The government's request came in the middle of escalation of hostilities, marked by the end of the ceasefire and the first full-scale assault by the security forces on the Maoists after Mamata took over. Two Maoists were gunned down in the encounter last night. ( ) Verma had been removed as SP of West Midnapore almost as soon as Mamata came to power, possibly because of the long list of complaints that the Maoists had against him. Verma, as SP of West Midnapore, and Gupta, who was then DIG, CID (Operations), had spearheaded Operation Lalgarh. They had worked out the strategy to encircle Maoist-dominated areas of the district from two flanks and create a circle of domination by the security forces. "They were working in close co-ordination with the central forces but since the two police officers knew the terrain well and were well versed with the tactics of the Maoists in Bengal, they mainly masterminded the plan to create a circle of domination," an official at Writers' Buildings said. The ADG, law and order, Surajit Kar Purkayastha, who was IG, south Bengal, at the time of the June 2009 offensive against the Maoists, had also been inducted to provide key inputs for the sensitive operation. A short while later, he was appointed IG, law and order, and ever since he has been constantly interacting with his officers on tackling the Maoist problem. "Verma took over as SP of the CIF today and we are hoping that the Election Commission would give its nod for Gupta's appointment to the CIF in a few days. Besides, Kar Purkayastha is already in charge of the overall security of the state," an official said. "Once that happens, the core team that was involved in Operation Lalgarh would be back in place again." Sources in Writers' Buildings said that for the past few weeks, the government has been factoring in the possible need for resuming security operations. "While not abandoning the peace process, the chief minister has realised that eventually she would need to strike against the Maoists and should be prepared for that," an official said. "She has been talking to several officers involved with anti-Maoist operations during the previous government and has received high recommendations about both Verma and Gupta." |
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