Three days after the Maoist attack in which three of his colleagues were gunned down while having lunch, constable Nripendranath Das of Sarenga police station still cannot believe his luck. Das was one of the five policemen, who were attacked near Pirolgari crossing on June 3.

He and National Volunteer Force (NVF) personnel Balaram Maity had decided to stay with the police vehicle while the three others had their lunch.

“There was a friendly argument over who would have lunch first, as someone would have to stay with the vehicle. In the end, Maity and I decided to take lunch once the others finished and returned. I got out of the police van to stretch my legs when I heard gunfire at the dhaba. Before I could react, one of the miscreants hit me in the face with his pistol and took my rifle,” recounts Das, sitting on his bed in the ENT ward of the Bankura Medical College & Hospital.

Soon Das (52) saw Maity struggling to retain his weapon. “Considering that we were outnumbered, I told Maity to give up his weapon. I realised that the gang was intent on taking our weapons and would kill us if we protest. Throughout the incident, they were raising Maoist slogans,” he says.

While some of the 20-odd Maoists thrashed Das and Maity and took their weapons, another lot gunned down the three policemen at the dhaba.

“Some of them were waiting with motorbikes to make a quick escape. One of the men beat me up, snatched my mobile and wallet, asking his accomplice to do the same with Maity. ‘They will call for backup otherwise,’ he told him,” says Das.

... contd.