By IANS
Kolkata : After a furore over shifting of Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) camps from violence-torn villages in Nandigram area of West Bengal, police Monday clarified that the camps were not being shifted from their designated areas.
“We are not shifting the CRPF camps from Nandigram. The paramilitary forces will remain there,” state Director General of Police D.P. Vohra told media persons.
Vohra was earlier reported to have ordered the shifting of the CRPF camps from troubled zones to less sensitive areas. The opposition, including the Trinamool Congress, said this would rekindle violence in the area.
West Bengal Inspector General of Police Raj Kanojia described as “misplaced” the reports of removal of CRPF camps from the troubled areas.
“It is an unnecessary controversy. There is no question of shifting of CRPF camps. We are not even contemplating it. The camps are there to stay,” Kanojia said.
“The camps may be relocated in the future according to the situation. But for now they will remain there,” he said.
Kanojia said the main task of the security forces is to instil a sense of security among the people. “We are conducting joint patrolling with the CRPF and have set up joint camps in Nandigram. We are presently carrying out area domination exercises there,” he said.
He said CRPF camps have been set up not only in Nandigram — in East Midnapore district — but also in nearby Khejuri, a CPI-M stronghold.
The region has seen violence since January over a proposed special economic zone the West Bengal government wanted to set up on farmland. The decision, later scrapped, sparked a turf war between the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and a Trinamool Congress-backed group.
A total of 34 people have been killed since January in Nandigram, according to official figures. But the opposition maintains that many more have died and that CPI-M activists have chased away many more from there.