Security forces recover landmine in West Bengal

West Midnapore, Nov. 27 (ANI): Security forces recovered a landmine kept in a tiffin box in West Bengal's West Midnapore District on Sunday.

The tiffin box was found over a culvert in Goaltore- Hoomgarh road.

The security personnel also seized Maoists posters, which warned the villagers to observe a shutdown called to commemorate the death of slain Maoist leader Koteswar Rao alias Kishenji.

Locals turned out in large numbers at the landmine recovery spot, which was cornered off by the security forces.

"I was on a morning walk, which I do every morning when I saw Maoists posters lying on street," said Gautam Biswas, a local.

According to reports, Kishenji and some of his accomplices were killed by the security forces in a joint operation in the Burishol Forests of West Bengal's Purulia District on Thursday.

Despite strong measures initiated by the central government to crush the ultras, the Maoist insurgency has gripped nearly a third of the country, spreading into the interiors of 20 of India's 28 states.

The guerrilla war, waged mostly from the forests of central and eastern India by ultras of the banned outfit, Communist Party of India-Maoist, is seen as the country's biggest internal security threat, say analysts.

A recent crackdown on rebel-dominated areas had raised hopes that the government was winning the battle against the Maoists whom Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as India"s biggest internal security threat.

However, the latest string of attacks by Maoist ultras, including repeated strikes and ambushes targeting security personnel deployed in insurgency-affected areas, has led to fears that security forces are ill prepared to deal with the threat.

For the past few years, the rebels have stepped up their attacks against the government, targeting and damaging democratic and civil institutions of the nation, such as schools, medical centres and government property.

Maoists have also significantly increased their presence in tribal and rural regions in affected states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa. (ANI)