Incident Summary:
02/01/2010: On Monday, in Puruliya, West Bengal, India, assailants fired upon a police patrol, wounding eight police officers. Three senior police officials, including an additional superintendent of police and a deputy superintendent of police, and five constables were wounded when the ultras attacked them while the police were preparing to raid Kumra village following a tip-off that the left-wing extremists were assembling in the area. When the police arrived, they were reportedly attacked with arrows and bricks. Police officials said that Purulia ASP C. Sudhakar officer was hit with bricks on his face and head, while DSP (headquarters) officer Tanmay Sarkar fractured his right hand. The officer-in-charge of Bandwan also sustained injuries. Five constables were struck by arrows. The police retaliated and opened fire, reporting no injuries. However, unconfirmed reports indicate that two villagers may have been injured in the police fire. No damages were reported in the attack. No group claimed responsibility, although it was widely believed the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) was responsible.
Overview
GTD ID:
201002010026
When:
2010-02-01
Country:
India
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
West Bengal
City:
Purulia
Location Details:
The attack took place in Puruliya.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Police |
Name of Entity |
Indian Law Enforcement |
Specific Description |
A police patrol |
Nationality of Target |
Iceland |
Additional Information
Hostages |
No |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
Unknown |
Extent of Property Damage |
Unknown |
Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Melee |
Knife or Other Sharp Object |
Melee |
Blunt Object |
Weapon Details |
Arrows and bricks were used in the attack. |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 8 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
8 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
National Counterterrorism Center, “Eight Police Officers Wounded in Armed Attack by Suspected CPI-Maoist in Puruliya, West Bengal, India," Worldwide Incidents Tracking System, July 8, 2010. |
Indo-Asian News Service, "Eight Policemen, Three Maoists Injured in West Bengal Gun Battle," LexisNexis Academic, Indo-Asian News Service, February 1, 2010. |
Indo-Asian News Service, "Maoists Attack Police Posse, Kill CPI-M Activist," LexisNexis Academic, Indo-Asian News Service, February 1, 2010. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties