Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KOLKATA287
2009-10-28 09:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:
MAOISTS/NAXALS DETAIN AND RELEASE TRAIN IN WEST BENGAL
how-toVZCZCXRO2195 RR RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHNEH DE RUEHCI #0287 3010920 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 280920Z OCT 09 FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2486 INFO RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 1004 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 1007 RUEHNEH/AMCONSUL HYDERABAD 0070 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 2369 RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 3090
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
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
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