Defending his decision to release 26 women "agitators" in exchange for a police officer abducted by Maoists, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee described it as an exception and warned the extremists that they would be taught a lesson in future.

"If they learn this lesson, then they are wrong. I will teach them a lesson in future," he told reporters when asked whether the Maoists would be emboldened by the move and carry out such abductions again.

He said the decision to release 26 women prisoners from jail was "an exception and not part of our overall policy of getting rid of Maoists. We will carry on with our mission objective. There is no illusion about it because Maoists are engaged in murders, looting, extortion and all kinds of criminal activities."

The Chief Minister said the women were released on bail as they were charged with cases like digging up roads, felling trees and carrying out agitation programmes.

Asked whether the decision was a "surrender" of state power to the Maoists, he said "they would have been released on bail in any case within 10-15 days or a month. That is not a surrender."

To a question whether the Left extremists would be emboldened by the release of the women agitators, he said "it is a correct issue. When we decided to respond, we discussed this point. This is something exceptional."

"We have to be very careful that such a situation does not recur. And the Maoists should also be clear in their minds that they will not get such a response in future. We will ensure that things are not repeated," Bhattacharjee said.

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