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Special pay for police in Maoist-infested areas

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government will pay a special allowance to police personnel who operate in Maoist-infested areas, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said on Tuesday.

“The police are operating in difficult times. In north Bengal, there is the threat of certain separatist forces; in south Bengal, there are 21 thanas spread across the districts of Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia where they have to counter terrorist activities [by Maoists] almost on a daily basis,” he said at a police function here.

In view of the violence by left-wing extremists, the government decided to upgrade thanas.

Steps were being taken to increase the firepower of the police as well as induct more personnel, “or else we will be in difficulty,” the Chief Minister said.

He said though the functioning of civil administration had been hampered by Maoist activity, it was the police who directly faced the threat from extremists. “I had gone to Paschim Medinipur district for a better understanding of the situation and discussed issues with senior police officials there,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

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