Union Home Secretary G K Pillai on Tuesday said the West Bengal government had committed a mistake by negotiating the release of an abducted police official in exchange of releasing tribal women, who were reportedly supporters of Maoists.
"I think they (the state government) did make mistake. They should have acted a little tough," Pillai said when asked by a TV channel whether the West Bengal government made a 'fatal mistake' while carrying out the swap.
He said by carrying out the exchange, "We lost an opportunity to demonstrate the will of the state".
The Home Secretary said that after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya explained that the swap was an exception, the "message has gone to the Maoists that they are not going to get any further people released".
