Raipur: In a major Maoist strike, a senior
police official and eight constables were killed when nearly
250 Naxals ambushed them in a jungle in Gariabandh area along
Chattisgarh-Orissa border, about 150 km from here.
The 10-member police team led by Additional
Superintendent of Police Rajesh Pawar was ambushed last
evening in Sonabed jungle, which falls in Chattisgarh and is
close to the Orissa border, Inspector General of Police Rajesh
Mishra said today.
The team was on its way to village Sosing, about 15 km
from the jungle area, after being informed about Maoist
movement there, he said.
Mishra said between 200 and 250 Naxals were involved in
the attack and they also hacked the bodies of some policemen
with sharp-edged objects.
The policemen were ambushed by the Naxals after their
vehicle broke down, following which they boarded a tractor and
changed their route and proceeded towards Anamore, about 15 km
from Sosing, he said.
However, the Maoists got information about the breaking
down of police vehicle and the change in the route plan,
following which the Naxals launched a surprise attack by
opening fire, Mishra said.
Nine policemen, including Pawar, were killed, he said
while noting that one of the policemen in the team is missing.
The IG said there was retaliatory fire by the personnel,
but there is no report of any Maoist causality.
Officials said after the contact with the team was lost,
the Chhattisgarh Police had rushed a large team of CRPF and
STF personnel to the area.
As the site was near Orissa border, police in the
neighbouring state was alerted and requested to send a team to
the spot, they said. A police team was sent on foot to the
site.
The bodies of the policemen killed were being brought to
Gariabandh.
Besides Pawar, the other policemen killed in the attack
were Krishna Kumar, Omeshwar Thakur, Dhaneshwar, Bhishan
Yadav, Bholaram Sahu, Santosh Thakur, Kishore Pandey and
Gaurav.
Condemning the incident, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister
Raman Singh said, "The attack shows the ugly face of the
Naxals. They way they hacked the bodies of policemen reveals
their brutal mindset."
He also conveyed his condolences to the bereaved
families.
Singh called a meeting of state Home Minister Ram Kanwar,
Principal Secretary P Joy Ommen, Principal Secretary-Home N K
Aswal and other senior officials at his residence this morning
and discussed on the ways to counter the Naxal menace.
On May 17, seven CRPF men were killed in a landmine blast
triggered by Naxals on a patch connecting Sukma and Keralapal
areas in Dantewada in the state.
In the bloodiest attack on security forces in April last
year, Naxals trapped and gunned down 75 CRPF personnel and one
state policeman during a joint offensive against the ultras in
Dantewada.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 19:15