At Bakshi, on the Bankura-Midnapore border, the EFR men, all in their 40s, are angry and demoralised. The Silda attack has made them realise that they too are sitting ducks. And like Silda, their camp is ringed by houses with children running all over the place.

The camp, located on the premises of a police outpost, has 28 personnel of the EFR and eight of the West Bengal police. The single-storey building has a makeshift watchtower on the roof which can only be reached with the help of a ladder. Sand bags make do for bunkers but with trees all around, the sentries can hardly get a clear view. There is no protection in the camp rear — the bamboo fence does not instil any sense of security.

“I will lose my job if you name me... We still can’t believe what happened at Silda. I knew many who have died. There is fear here that the same thing may happen to us,” said one of the EFR men at Bakshi, located in an area the Maoists consider their turf.

His colleague joined in: “If they come in hundreds as they did in Silda, we will not be able to retaliate. This is an open camp, people walk in day and night. There are so many people around the camp, so many residential houses. If we return fire, many innocents may get caught in the cross-fire. There are a few other camps like this in Jongolmahal.”

Another EFR man said he had started worrying for his family ever since he heard of Silda. “I have not been home for more than six months. On Monday, my wife called as soon as she heard of the Silda attack. She wanted to know whether I was alright. If something happens to me, what will they do?” he said.