Faced with stiff resistance from the Maoists, security forces today pushed their way ahead firing mortar shells from shoulder-borne rocket-propelled guns to seize control of the Goaltore-Ramgarh stretch of forests and reaching Ramgarh, 2.5 km from Lalgarh police station, where they were welcomed by locals who offered them food and water.

The Goaltore-Ramgarh road gives the security forces an alternative route to Lalgarh. Most of other approach roads to Lalgarh have been controlled by the Maoists for some time now.

The central-state joint forces, which were camping at Kadasole on Saturday, today started their operation around 8 am. As they made advances, they came under heavy gunfire from Maoist squads in Mohultola. Later, two IEDs exploded on the road stretch in Kadasole forests. The central forces, however, retaliated and used mortar shells as they moved on braving heavy rains. By 3 pm, they had reached Ramgarh and set up camp there. The fleeing Maoists squads, meanwhile, set ablaze the CPI office in Ramgarh.

“The Maoists exploded two IEDs, but no one was injured. Our forces detected and defused many others,” said Siddhinath Gupta, DIG CID (operations).

The security forces began a two-pronged advance on Saturday. While one group moved from Kadasole, another closed in on Maoists’ pockets in Ramgarh and reached Pathordanga village - home of Chatradhar Mahato, the leader of Peoples Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA). The security forces expect to trap some of the Maoist squads between Goaltore and Lalgarh.

At Ramgarh, the security forces were welcomed by locals, who offered drinking water and thronged both sides of the roads as jawans and mediapersons walked by. “They charged Rs 500 per month from us and forced us to participate in rallies. I am happy the police are here, but they need to stay here always,” said Anil Das, a retired police constable in Alamdanga, at the edge of Ramgarh. “I am planning to sell off my land and ancestral house and leave this area,” he added.

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