Trinamool ministers Roy and Adhikari claimed to have faced protests and road blockades set up by CPI(M) supporters on their way to Lalgarh, and said the police stood as mute spectators.

“The state forces are committing atrocities against innocent villagers of Lalgarh, Salboni, Goaltore, Sarenga and other areas. The state Government warned us not to come, but still we are here,” said Adhikari.

He added that they would set up relief camps for “victims of police atrocities” and submit a report to Mamata, apart from a detailed one to the Union Home Ministry. “In the name of flushing out Maoists, the state Government is allowing CPI(M) cadres to regain ground in the tribal belt.”

While the team of intellectuals, comprising filmmaker Sen, theatre personality Saonli Mitra and actor Kaushik Sen among others, also wanted to meet Maoist leaders including Kishanji, this did not materialise.

After his meeting with them, the PCAPA’s Mahato said: “We are caught in a crossfire between the state Government and the Maoists. The state forces are targeting innocent villagers, they are not even sparing women and children... We want both sides to stop armed combat and sit for talks.”

Sen and other team members also called for a ceasefire till July 14. “We have heard that the police personnel are dragging out women from their homes and beating them up,” she said.

The intellectuals also accused the state Government of not checking Maoist activity in time and for under-development of tribal-dominated areas. “What was the state Government doing when the Maoists were building a base here? There is no drinking water, school or health facilities here,” Mitra said.