The West Bengal government on Monday dismantled the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) camp in Gidhni near Jhargram, where a Maoist squad shot dead four jawans at dusk on Sunday. The remaining 23 jawans at the EFR camp were withdrawn to the barracks largely because the attack broke the morale of the force, admitted senior officials. The security threat was also taken into consideration.

There was widespread condemnation at different levels of the state police, many of whom felt that the Chief Minister’s open challenge to the Maoists was a “politically incorrect” stance and the four jawans had to pay for it with their lives. “It needed more tact and patience to deal with the Maoists,” said a senior state police bureaucrat.

“It is true that the policemen at Gidhni have become shaky and their morale is low because of the attack. That is why we will have to bring in fresh blood from other camps,” Anil Kumar, IG, West Bengal Armed Police.

Kumar said the EFR jawans were taken off guard because they never anticipated this kind of attack. “They were not at all prepared and were in a relaxed mood which one cannot afford in a high-security zone. And the Maoists took full advantage of that. I told them to be on their guard always,” the IG said.