MAOISTS/NAXALS DETAIN AND RELEASE TRAIN IN WEST BENGAL

UNCLAS KOLKATA 000287 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/INSB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ASEC IN SUBJECT: MAOISTS/NAXALS DETAIN AND RELEASE TRAIN IN WEST BENGAL REF: KOLKATA 106 ¶1. (SBU) On October 27 a group of armed and unarmed Maoist/Naxal supporters (press has reported 300) halted an express Bhubaneswar - New Delhi train in Jhargram, West Bengal to protest the deployment of central security forces in anti-Maoist operations and call for the release of one of their leaders, who is currently in police custody. Jhargram is a remote, forested area 170 km west of Kolkata in the Maoist-affected West Midnapore district. According to the press, the train was delayed for more than five hours. The perpetrators disappeared as security forces entered the area - no passengers were harmed. Comment ¶2. (SBU) The event highlights the need for the GoI to improve security of rail corridors in Maoist affected areas; a similar detainment occurred in April this year in the neighboring state of Jharkhand (See Reftel). It also exposes the risks of a perceived government willingness to negotiate and hostage swap with the Maoists/Naxals. Last week, the West Bengal state government released a number of tribal women in exchange for a Maoist-held policeman. Politically, the incident forces the national Railways Minister, Mamata Banerjee, leader of the opposition party in West Bengal, to take a more public position regarding the Maoists and their supporters, something that she has up until lately, been reluctant to do. The likely domestic political and security consequences of the incident will be a hardened West Bengal government's determination to confront the Maoists, with force if necessary, and a Mamata Banerjee more willing to support law and order actions in the disturbed areas and publicly distance herself from the Maoist sympathizers. ROWLAND