Kolkata:
The West Bengal government will have to answer some tough questions after the brazen attack by Maoists which killed 24 jawans. The state government will give its report to the Centre today.
Top bureaucrats and police officers are likely to get into a huddle to explain what happened particularly after ill preparedness of the jawans has been criticized.
Home secretary GK Pillai has already taken a potshot at the state police saying if a police camp becomes a picnic spot, then such a thing is bound to happen.
The state government has blamed the Centre for not cooperating fully in handling the situation.
But the critical question arising is whether at all the state machinery is equipped to tackle the Maoists as issues of ill-preparedness of police and inadequate deployment of forces is glaring after the brutal massacre.
Meanwhile, angry families and friends of the security personnel killed in the attack blocked and lay siege to the convoy of five ministers who were heading for the attack spot.
The blockade took place at Salua in West Midnapore, when a team of ministers, led by state Finance Minister Asim Dasgupta, was going for the gun salute for the Eastern Frontier Rifles troopers who were killed in Monday's attack in Shilda.
West Bengal's senior-most cop, Bhupinder Singh, who visited thedisaster zone on Tuesday, admitted that the camp's location made itinherently vulnerable. The shops around made it impossible to placesecurity outside the camp. And when the attack began, the policemenwere worried about firing back, and hurting shoppers in the crossfire.
A jawan who survived says the camp was caught so completely off-guardthat there was little chance of putting up a real fight. "Everyonepanicked...I could not take it...I climbed a wall and escaped," he saidto NDTV, visibly shaken hours after the assault.
(Watch: Bengal attack: Jawan recounts the horror) In Delhi, Home Minister P Chidambaram admitted that the attack showed"indications of failure in some aspects." He added that "only athorough review will reveal how the police camp with adequate strengthwas overrun, when there was day light, by the CPI (Maoist)."
(Read: Chidambaram's statement on Midnapore attack)
But sources tell NDTV that privately, a furious Chidambaram hasminced no words with the Bengal state government. The ministerreportedly said the jawans were acting as if they were on a picnic;that they had let their guard down by allowing locals to use theircamp's toilet. The jawans at the camp were also not in regular touchwith their headquarters. The message from the union to the stategovernment: figure out how to protect these camps better.
Shilda, where the camp was located, is 75 kilometres from Midnaporetown. Police reinforcements from Binpur and Belpahari, 8-10 kilometresaway, reached the spot three hours after the attack. The securityforces had to trek through forests to avoid landmines planted by theNaxals.
The state police says that local intelligence networks in Naxal areasare virtually non-existent. Despite an afternoon spent by Naxalsreadying for the attack, just feet away, the jawans got no tip-off.
Maoist leader Kishenji has claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We have attacked the camp and this is our answer to Chidambaram's'Operation Green Hunt' and unless the Centre stops this inhumanmilitary operation we are going to answer this way only," Kishenji saidfrom an undisclosed location.
In his statement on Tuesday, Chidambaram hit out at intellectualsympathisers of Maoists. "I would like to hear the voices ofcondemnation of those who have, erroneously, extended intellectual andmaterial support to the CPI (Maoist)."
According to sources, this is why the Midnapore incident happened:
- Key security procedures were not followed
- Looked like the jawans were on a picnic, there were no security checks at the camp
- Locals had easy access, used camp toilets regularly
- There wasn't constant communication between jawans, HQ
- Jawans had arms, could have protected camp better