They said forces have taken control of several blocks and restored civil administration which has started development activities as per the government’s anti-Naxal strategy.

After months, several police stations have reopened and schools and offices were functioning normally in many parts of West Midnapore district, they said.

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is expected to visit Lalgarh on Sunday to assess the ground situation there and boost the confidence of security forces and other officials. During the recent operations in Lalgarh, security forces also killed three Maoists and arrested 15 others.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal Police is still in the dark about the condition of Maoist leader Kishenji, who is rumoured to have been injured or killed in an encounter on March 25.

“We have been searching for Kishenji from the very beginning. We are still looking for him and we haven’t got him. We don’t know where he is,” said Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh in Kolkata.

Following the March 25 encounter at Hatilodh forest, a section of the media had reported that the Maoist leader was either dead or injured.

Singh, however, said the police did not have any direct or circumstantial evidence in support of such reports.

The DGP declined to comment whether lack of information about Kishenji’s fate could be attributed to intelligence failure. “It is for you (journalists) to judge. We get inputs from time to time, but there is no confirmation,” he said.

Another top Maoist leader Ganapathi had reportedly expressed his displeasure over Kishenji frequently talking to the media.