Incident Summary:
05/22/2010: On Saturday evening between 2000 and 2015, suspected cadres of Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) fired on a police patrol at the Steel Express, which runs between Howrah and Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), while it was passing through Banstala station near Jhargram in West Midnapore District of West Bengal, India. Pallab Tripathi, a university student, who was standing near the carriage door, was hit by a bullet on his leg, and at least one member of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) paramilitary Ketan Ram sustained minor injuries in the firing. It is unclear is if the shots were fired from the train or while the train was passing through the area. According to police sources, unidentified assailants from the second and last compartments of the train opened fire on a team of joint forces standing on the train platform. The joint forces then returned fire. However, West Midnapore SP Monoj Verma, claimed that the train entered the area while a gunfight was occurring between Maoists and security forces, and locals and rail employees denied both of these claims made by the police and instead said that the gunfight took place between the members of joint forces and railway protection forces. The joint force team had been waiting to board in the train and they tried to stop it at the halt. The rail police personnel mistook them to be Maoists and opened fire, which had been retaliated by the joint forces. No damages were reported and no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Overview
GTD ID:
201005220008
When:
2010-05-22
Country:
India
Region:
South Asia
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
West Bengal
City:
Bantala
Location Details:
The attack took place as the train was passing through Banstala station near Jhargram, Midnapore.
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Transportation |
Name of Entity |
Steel Express |
Specific Description |
A passenger train |
Nationality of Target |
India |
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 |
Firearms |
Unknown Gun Type |
Weapon Details |
Unknown firearms 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 |
Additional Information |
It is unclear whether or not this was a terrorist attack or if this was an exchange of fire between security forces and train protection services due to a case of mistaken identity. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 2 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
2 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Author Name, "Two Injured as Maoists Open Fire at Train in West Bengal," LexisNexis Academic, Asian News International, May 23, 2010. |
Times of India, "Train 'Passenger', Jawan Injured in Crossfire," LexisNexis Academic, Times of India, May 23, 2010. |
Telegraph, "Maoist Fire Hits Student on Train," LexisNexis Academic, Telegraph, May 22, 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