While the Chief Secretary admitted that development had lagged behind in Lalgarh, he added: “If certain sections of the Government fail to deliver, killing people and setting houses on fire are not a solution.”

Emphasising that utmost care would be taken not to harass innocent people, Chakrabarti said that the top brass of the security forces has been advised to take people into confidence. “There is no clash of interest between the police and villagers. The police are here for the safety of the villagers,” he said.

Arriving on a helicopter with DG (Coordination) Bhupinder Singh, IG (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia and District Magistrate Narayan Swarup Nigam, the Chief Secretary spent nearly five hours in Lalgarh.