Jharkhand police sources said they have been contemplating the possibility of a joint operation with their West Bengal counterparts for over a year but without any success.

"We know that Naxals who operate in Jharkhand keep moving into West Bengal. We are still hopeful that joint or a coordinated operation could be undertaken to take on the extremists," the sources said.

The Union Home Ministry has already sent a total of 16 companies (1,600 personnel), including an all-women company, to the state to tackle the Lalgarh situation besides about 120 personnel of the elite anti-Naxal force CoBRA.