On 2 November 2008 a landmine exploded on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's convoy route near Salboni, West Midnapore. Police raids in the adivasi villages of Lalgarh led to the People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA), which kept the police out for about seven months. Forces moved in on 18 June 2009, the Centre banned the CPI (Maoist) four days later, and PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato, arrested that September, was convicted in 2015 and freed in 2020.
Binpur-I block, 180 km from Kolkata
Lalgarh is the headquarters of the Binpur-I block, then in West Midnapore district, about 180 km west of Kolkata Open. Today the area falls in Jhargram district.
Maoists had been active in the area before 2008. Before the blast, according to UNI, they had dropped pamphlets urging villagers not to give land for a JSW steel project at Salboni UNI via Oneindia. Chhatradhar Mahato, who would become the movement's best-known leader, told Open that adivasis in the area had faced police beatings and abuse "since the early 1990s, when the police started operations against Maoists here" Open.
A steel plant foundation stone, then a landmine
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan were returning to Kolkata from Salboni, where they had laid the foundation stone of an integrated steel plant of JSW Steel. A landmine went off as the convoy passed. Both ministers escaped unhurt. Six policemen in the last car were injured, three of them critically, UNI reported UNI via Oneindia.
Chief Security Advisor A K Maliwal said "Maoist ultras" were suspected. Inspector General Raj Kanojia said six people had been arrested by 3 November on suspicion of Maoist links UNI via Oneindia.
The CPI(M) Polit Bureau condemned the attack the next day. It said the Maoists had targeted the Chief Minister, had killed a number of CPI(M) workers, and had opposed the Salboni steel plant CPI(M).
Three schoolboys among the detained, says Amnesty
Amnesty International said the police response "allegedly included arbitrary detention of seven persons, three of them schoolboys, for several days and excessive use of force on at least 50 persons including 8 women." It said in June 2009 that no inquiry had been held into these allegations Amnesty International Claim · Amnesty, villagers. We found no later report of one.
An all-India fact-finding team, including economist Amit Bhaduri and lawyer Colin Gonsalves, visited in April 2009. It said later raids subjected "children, old people and women" to atrocities. It said the court had since dropped the charges against all the suspects Mainstream Weekly.
The police saw a different picture. Senior officers told Open that the PCPA had close links with the Maoists, and that Maoists were recruiting youngsters and stockpiling weapons in Lalgarh Open.
No food or water for the police: the PCPA boycott
Villagers formed the Police Santrash Birodhi Janasadharaner Committee, known in English as the People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA or PCAPA). By 25 November 2008, UNI reported, roads had been dug up near the blast site. The committee gave the government 48 hours to act on a 13-point charter of demands. If it did not, the committee said, it would start a police boycott in which shopkeepers would not sell food or drinking water to the police UNI via Oneindia.
One condition was symbolic. The fact-finding team said the PCPA would lift its blockade if the police apologised "in the traditional tribal manner, by holding their ears and rubbing their own noses against the ground." A separate nine-point charter sought development, including 365 days of NREGA work and BPL ration cards Mainstream Weekly.
Mahato told Open that roads were dug up and the area was cut off "until 7 December". "We [have] lifted the blockade [since], but won't allow the police in till they seek a pardon from us and regain our trust and confidence," he said. Open reported that police at the Lalgarh station rarely went out and did not register FIRs Open.
State Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told Open that the government feared the PCPA would use "women and children as human shields" if police forced their way in. "But things cannot be allowed to continue like this. The rule of law has to be re-established," he said Open.
11 or 14 dead before the forces arrived
Amnesty counted at least 11 deaths in Lalgarh in the seven months to June 2009: seven CPI(M) members and supporters, and four PCPA members Amnesty International. Open put the toll at 14 by June 2009, seven of them PCPA members and six CPI(M) members Open.
The fact-finding team said it heard from witnesses that police were present on several occasions when the "harmad vahini", a term used locally for alleged armed CPI(M) cadres, carried out killings Mainstream Weekly Claim · Fact-finding team.
CRPF and BSF retake the police station
On 18 June 2009, the West Bengal Police, the CRPF and the BSF began joint operations to take back Lalgarh Outlook. Amnesty International said it had reports that more than 40 people, including women, were injured as over 800 paramilitary personnel used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear blockades Amnesty International.
According to PTI, the forces retook the Lalgarh police station on 19 June. It had been out of bounds since November PTI via Deccan Herald.
The government's own verdict was mixed. On 6 August 2009, Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said: "Our target was to arrest the Maoists or flush them out of the area. But we have not been successful." On 17 August the Chief Minister told a national meeting that the operations had "restored order in most of the villages". The Institute for Conflict Management put the force at more than 4,000 troops Outlook.
The CPI (Maoist) ban, and whether the PCPA was a front
Four days into the operation, on 22 June 2009, the Union Home Ministry added the CPI (Maoist) by name to the UAPA's list of banned terrorist organisations. "What we have done, in order to avoid any ambiguity, is that we have added the words CPI (Maoist) in the schedule of the Act," Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said Deccan Herald. The Maoists called a two-day strike against the "war" on people in Lalgarh BBC via HPI.
West Bengal's ruling Left Front did not back a ban. Left Front chairman Biman Bose said such outfits "cannot be countered by proscription" and had to be fought politically. The Trinamool Congress said it was not a party to the decision Deccan Herald.
Whether the PCPA was a Maoist front is still contested. Police said it was Open Police position. Mahato denied it, though Open noted that his brother Sasadhar was a Maoist leader Open. In 2019 the Calcutta High Court found "no sufficient evidence" that the accused were members of a banned organisation or that the PCPA was a front of the CPI (Maoist) LiveLaw Court finding.
Police posing as journalists arrest Mahato
West Bengal police arrested Mahato in September 2009 in a sting in which officers posed as journalists, PTI reported PTI via Deccan Herald. In a 2023 bail order, the Calcutta High Court recorded that he was arrested on 26 September 2009 over the 2 November 2008 attempt on the Chief Minister's life at Kantapahari PTI via LawTrend.
A month later, on 27 October 2009, PCPA supporters stopped the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express near Banstala station in Jhargram and demanded Mahato's release Maktoob. PTI said the PCPA had held the train's two drivers PTI via Deccan Herald.
148 dead on the Gyaneshwari Express, and no verdict
Early on 28 May 2010, the Howrah-Mumbai Gyaneshwari (Jnaneswari) Express derailed near Jhargram and was hit by a goods train. Minister of State for Railways K H Muniyappa told the Lok Sabha that 148 people were killed. He said the prima facie cause was "suspected to be sabotage on the track by the miscreants" IANS via Deccan Herald Documented.
Who did it is disputed. West Bengal police chief Bhupinder Singh said PCPA posters claiming the attack were found at the scene AP via Fox News. Investigators told Open that pandrol clips had been removed along a 120 m stretch by a PCPA militia unit from Manikpara-Lodhashuli Open Claim · Police. PCPA spokesman Asit Mahato denied any role, PTI reported AP via Fox News. Open said the CPI (Maoist) also denied involvement Open Claim · PCPA, CPI (Maoist).
The two ministers who mattered most read it differently. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram said "the needle of suspicion points to Maoists or frontal organisations of CPI Maoists" PTI via Governance Now. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged a "political conspiracy" that only a CBI probe could uncover PTI via Governance Now Claim · Mamata Banerjee.
The Left Front state government at first said its own CID probe was enough. On 2 June 2010 the Centre handed the case to the CBI anyway, using its powers over railway land The Tribune. In February 2023 the Calcutta High Court bailed 11 accused after more than a decade in custody, with the CBI probe still not concluded SATP. We found no report of a trial verdict.
Blast to NIA arrest, 2008 to 2021
Blast on the convoy route
A landmine near Salboni injured six policemen in the Chief Minister's convoy UNI.
Forces move in
The joint operation began, and the Lalgarh police station was retaken PTI.
CPI (Maoist) banned
The Centre listed the party under the UAPA Deccan Herald.
Mahato arrested
He was arrested by police posing as journalists PTI.
Gyaneshwari derailment
148 people were killed, and the cause was suspected sabotage IANS.
Sentence cut, release
The High Court reduced the sentence, and Mahato walked free in February 2020 IANS.
NIA arrest
The NIA arrested him hours after he voted in the Assembly election PTI via Tribune.
An uprising, or a Maoist front?
PCPA and supporters' account
Supporters described an uprising against decades of police abuse. Mahato said the raids were "the proverbial last straw" Open. The fact-finding team called the struggle "a legitimate and democratic expression of the grievances of the people" Mainstream Weekly. Civil liberties groups in CDRO called Mahato's 2015 conviction "a travesty of justice" and said he had been "falsely implicated" in 38 other cases CDRO.
Police and government account
The police and the Left Front government said the PCPA was close to the Maoists, who used the area to recruit and store arms. The state said the rule of law had to be restored Open. The Centre banned the CPI (Maoist) to cut off its funds and support Deccan Herald. The state police chief said Maoists used village committees "as the eyes and ears of Maoists" Open.
Life terms in 2015, a "feeble" investigation in 2019
On 12 May 2015, a Midnapore district court convicted Mahato, PCPA treasurer Sukhshanti Baske, Sambhu Soren and Sagun Murmu of sedition and waging war, and also under the UAPA. Two others, Raja Sarkhel and Prasun Chattopadhyay, were also convicted. All six got life terms. CDRO, a network of rights groups, said these were the first UAPA convictions in West Bengal CDRO.
On appeal, the state government (by then led by the Trinamool Congress) took the unusual step of challenging the conviction itself. It argued that the sanction for prosecution was defective and that the PCPA did not appear to be a Maoist front. A bench of Justice Md. Mumtaz Khan and Justice Jay Sengupta upheld the convictions under IPC Sections 121A, 122, 123 and 124A and UAPA Section 18. It set aside the Section 121 "waging war" charge and the UAPA membership charges. The court criticised a "feeble" investigation and said it felt "deep anguish" at how the case had been handled LiveLaw.
Reports differ on the new sentence. LiveLaw reported that the life term was commuted to three years' rigorous imprisonment LiveLaw. PTI reported that the court reduced it to 10 years PTI via LawTrend, and IANS said Mahato walked out in February 2020 after completing a ten-year term IANS via Sentinel.
Trinamool, then the NIA
After his release Mahato praised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee IANS via Sentinel and joined the Trinamool Congress's state committee Maktoob. On 28 March 2021, hours after he voted in the first phase of the Assembly election, the NIA arrested him. An NIA official said the arrest was over the 2009 killing of CPI(M) leader Prabir Mahato PTI via Tribune. Rajit Sur of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights called the arrest "politically motivated" The Kashmir Walla Claim · APDR.
In September 2021 the NIA charge-sheeted Mahato as the prime accused in the Rajdhani case PTI via Deccan Herald. On 11 July 2023 a Calcutta High Court bench led by Justice Debangsu Basak granted him bail. It noted that the NIA's FIR was registered only on 1 April 2020, for an incident on 27 October 2009. The bench barred him from entering five districts, including Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur PTI via LawTrend. In November 2024 News Arena reported that a special court in Kolkata had dismissed the NIA's Rajdhani case against him, noting he was in jail when it happened News Arena.
Jhargram off the LWE list in 2026
On 8 April 2026, the Union Home Ministry told nine states, West Bengal among them, that "no district in the country falls under the LWE-affected category". Jhargram was listed among 37 "Legacy and Thrust" districts. The ministry defines these as free of Maoist insurgency but still needing security and development support PTI via Siasat. We found no 2025 or 2026 report of a verdict in Mahato's remaining NIA case or in the Gyaneshwari derailment trial.
Sources
- UNI via Oneindia: PM and Patil ring up Buddhadeb and inquire of landmine incident, 3 Nov 2008
- CPI(M) Polit Bureau: Attack on convoy of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, 3 Nov 2008
- UNI via Oneindia: Situation deteriorates further in Lalgarh as tribal movement extends, 25 Nov 2008
- Mainstream Weekly: Report of the All-India Fact-finding Team on Lalgarh, June 2009
- Amnesty International: Authorities should avoid excessive use of force in West Bengal (ASA 20/006/2009), 19 June 2009
- Open: Red Zone, 22 June 2009
- PTI via Deccan Herald: Security forces liberate 22 villages in Lalgarh, 22 June 2009
- Deccan Herald: Centre bans Maoist outfit, 23 June 2009
- BBC via Hindu Press International: India bans Maoist party, 23 June 2009
- Outlook (Institute for Conflict Management): Still at war, 24 Aug 2009
- AP via Fox News: India cancels trains after derailment blamed on Maoist rebel sabotage, 29 May 2010
- PTI via Governance Now: Jnaneshwari mishap probe to be handed over to CBI, 2 June 2010
- The Tribune: Cong bows to Mamata, orders CBI probe into train tragedy, 3 June 2010
- Open: Just can't keep track, 4 June 2010
- IANS via Deccan Herald: Gyaneshwari derailment caused by sabotage, says Muniyappa, 29 July 2010
- CDRO via PUDR: UAPA, an alibi for political vendetta, 13 May 2015
- LiveLaw: Calcutta HC commutes life sentence of an alleged Maoist leader, 16 Aug 2019
- IANS via The Sentinel: Freed pro-Maoist leader reposes faith in Mamata Banerjee, 3 Feb 2020
- PTI via The Tribune: NIA arrests TMC leader Chhatradhar Mahato in 2009 murder case, 28 Mar 2021
- Maktoob: NIA arrests Trinamool Congress leader in 2009 case, party questions timing, 28 Mar 2021
- The Kashmir Walla: NIA arrests Trinamool Congress leader in 12-year-old case, 28 Mar 2021
- PTI via Deccan Herald: NIA names TMC member, 12 others in Rajdhani Express hostage case, 24 Sept 2021
- SATP: Calcutta HC grants bail to 11 accused Maoists in 2010 Jnaneswari Express derailment case, 1 Mar 2023
- PTI via LawTrend: Calcutta HC grants bail to Chhatradhar Mahato, 11 July 2023
- News Arena: Court dismisses NIA case against Lalgarh movement leader, 13 Nov 2024
- PTI via Siasat: No more Maoist violence-affected districts exist in India, Centre, 15 Apr 2026