The seized ‘missiles’. Mita Roy

Bankura/Midnapore, Nov. 6: The seizure of two “improvised missiles” and a launcher, apparently capable of hitting targets 200 metres away, has left police stunned hours before Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee visits Maoist-hit West Midnapore tomorrow.

The recovery, made in neighbouring Bankura, changes the ground rules of VIP security in the rebel zone. The forces now sanitise just the roadsides since the Maoists are not expected to hit targets beyond 7-8 metres.

Officers said they had never before heard of the rebel arsenal containing missiles or launchers till two sacks of weapons seized last evening, from motorcycle-borne rebel conduits in a forest, threw up the surprise.

“This is the first such recovery in the Maoist-infested areas,” Bankura police chief Vishal Garg said, adding that the two missiles and launcher had been sent to a forensic laboratory “to find out what these are”. The missiles look like pipes, each 3.5ft long, 3 inches in diameter and weighing 8.5kg, the police said.

“It’s basically like a Diwali rocket. Its launch end has to be placed in the holder (launcher), where an explosive goes off and fires the pipe towards a target up to 200 metres away,” an officer said.

“At the other end is the warhead, which also has explosives that go off on impact and the missile showers splinters, pellets, nuts, bolts, nails and other kinds of shrapnel. It can be fired from rooftops, windowsills and even trees.”

The farthest the rebels could strike till now was five to seven metres with their “directional mines” — those with their mouths positioned to channel the impact of the blast in one particular direction.

“These missiles appear more dangerous: the range is longer, they can be better directed and the damage is greater,” an officer said.

The Maoists, though, had not used missiles to target Bhattacharjee’s convoy on November 2 last year, but the police missed the 1,200m wire snaking through roadside fields.

Yesterday’s seizure was made in Karbhanga forest in Bankura’s Sarenga, just 3km from the West Midnapore border and 70km from Midnapore town, part of Bhattacharjee’s itinerary on his two-day trip.

A police patrol had spotted the headlight of an approaching motorcycle a little after 7.30pm, an officer said. “When the motorcyclist spotted us, he stopped. There were two persons on the bike. They dropped the motorcycle and two sacks and ran away in the darkness.”

The blue TVS Star City bike has a genuine West Midnapore registration and the visor showed two names: Animesh and Avishek, a source said. “We have identified the owner but cannot reveal the details.”

The sacks also contained two loaded single-shot pistols, about 16kg of a white powder in plastic bags, and another bag with about 2.5kg of a yellowish powder that could be RDX, the police said. A search of the area this morning yielded an automatic Chinese pistol.

About 1,700 police and paramilitary have been deployed for Bhattacharjee’s motorcade along two alternative routes from Debra to Midnapore town, 40km away, since 5pm today. They are searching the roadsides with tractors and power tillers.

The last time Bhattacharjee visited the district, on August 11, about 1,200 security personnel were deployed.