Sukma attack: Uddhav Thackeray takes a jibe at PM Narendra Modi, says claim of hitting Naxalism through demonetisation has fallen flat

In one of the deadliest attacks, 300 to 400 heavily-armed Maoists, women included, ambushed a CRPF contingent in a forested patch in Chhattisgarh on Monday, killing 25 troopers.

Mumbai: A day after 25 CRPF troopers were killed in a forested patch in Chhattisgarh, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thackeray said the PM's claim of hitting Naxalism through demonetisation has fallen flat, a day after one of the deadliest attacks at a place between Burkapal and Chintagufa in Sukma district.

In February, the PM had told the Rajya Sabha that around 700 Maoists have surrendered post-demonetisation and funds to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir have been choked while insisting that the note ban has had a direct impact on Naxalism and terrorism.

At least 25 CRPF personnel were killed and six wounded in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district today, the deadliest attack by naxalites targeting security forces this year.

The naxalites mounted the assault at around 12:25 pm in Kalapathar area of south Bastar region, one of the worst-hit by Left-wing extremism in the country.

The area is close to the Chintagufa-Burkapal-Bheji axis, the hotbed of naxal violence which has seen a number of such attacks in the past resulting in high casualties.