Click to play videoLalgarh: Tribals of West Bengal’s west Midnapore district have been protesting against the district administration and police brutality over the past fortnight.
The agitation has resulted in a deadlock and the district remains cut off from the rest of the world.
The deadlock in the region is unlikely to get resolved anytime soon as it has a strong presence of Maoists unless the administration plays a pro-active role.
Hundreds of tribals armed to the teeth marched to Dalilpur Chowk in the Lalgarh police station where the adivasis had summoned the police and district administration for an open meeting to resolve the Lalgarh deadlock over alleged police excesses on villagers.
The area has remained out of bounds for the police for over the past fortnight owing to the blockades and a threat of violent retort. Angry adivasis have steep demands from the administration.
Leader of People's Committee Against Police Action Sidhu Soren says, "The SP must do sit ups as a mark of apology. And his subordinates must rub their noses in dust from Dalilpur Chowk to Chhoto Pelia village."
However, the administration did not turn up at the meeting citing lack of security, not only from the locals, but more from the armed bands of Maoists whose domination in the area is nearly complete.
The absence of the police and district administration from this meeting clearly suggests that a strong fear psychosis still prevails amongst them.
However, for the villagers, that is getting interpreted as the lack of will to solve the current deadlock.
At the Chota pillaiu village in Lalgarh, villagers recounted the police raids that took place on the wee hours of the November 6 following a landmine blast in union minister Ram Vilas Paswan's convoy and one which, as per the official admittance of the Maoists, was aimed at chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
A villager of Chota pillaiu Sambari Murmu says, "They assaulted us, kicked us and hit us on our heads. A woman's eye was badly damaged."
District officials refused to speak on record but said off it that they are willing to have the meeting at a neutral venue.
However, with the tribals still adamant at their choice of venue and extremely angry at having been branded Maoists by the administration, a quick resolution of the impasse is unlikely.
(With inputs from Angshuman Roy)
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