"I decided to order an enquiry. We want to know the whole truth" including possible intelligence failure, Bhattacharjee, who holds the home portfolio, said.Terming the attack as heinous, the chief minister said "It was carried out by Maoist squads not only from our state but also from neighbouring states." Asked from which states the Maoist squads came, Bhattacharjee said that it was subject to enquiry.
He said that most of the firearms and ammunition at the camp had been looted by the Maoists after killing the EFR jawans and setting the camp on fire.A two-member team from the Union Home Ministry has made an aerial and ground survey of Silda and neighbouring areas which have been afflicted by the Maoist menace, Bhattacharjee said.
"Another team will be coming to visit the area and hold talks with the state government on the situation," he said, adding the state was working in close co-ordination with the Centre in this regard."On the evening of the incident itself, I had telephonic talks with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and I was in contact with the state chief secretary," Bhattacharjee, who could not come to office for the last two days due to illness, said.
The chief minister denied that the attack was a setback for the joint operations to combat Maoist extremism, saying "we are on the offensive." Bhattacharjee said that he has not yet decided on whether he would visit Silda. The families of the jawans killed and injured have been demanding that the chief minister visit the camps there to see in what conditions they operate.
Regarding shifting and fresh construction of camps, he said it should be a place away from densely inhabited places so that proper vigil can be kept. "We have identified the place and construction of the camp will be completed as soon as possible," he said. The Silda camp was located inside a health centre in the midst of a market place.
