By IANS,
Kolkata : Hundreds of villagers, including women and children, Monday marched in West Bengal’s trouble-torn Lalgarh region to protest against the month-long security operation against Maoists there and also clashed with security forces.
Security forces used batons to disperse the agitating crowd at Gohomidanga near Dharampur locality in Lalgarh.
The villagers, led by the People’s Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), were also demanding withdrawal of the security forces from all school buildings claiming it was affecting the education of students.
“There was a clash between villagers and the security forces near Dharampur locality. The situation is now under control,” Deputy Inspector General of police (Criminal Investigation Department) S.N. Gupta said.
Gupta was in charge of the Lalgarh operation and led a team of security forces into the violence-scarred region last month. The operation was called after Maoists declared the region ‘liberated’ in November 2008.
“Two landmine explosions took place near Ramgarh and two other landmines were recovered from the same area followed by a gun battle between the security forces and the Maoist rebels,” he said.
Meanwhile, the villagers claimed that around 50 people, including women and children, were injured when the security forces rained baton blows on them.