Raipur: About 40 armed Maoists raided the home of a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator in a village in a forested area of Chhattisgarh`s Raipur district, police said Wednesday. Damrudhar Pujari said he was safe but in a state of shock.
The guerrillas, including several teenaged women cadres of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), raided Pujari`s house between 10 pm and 11 pm Tuesday at village Mungapadar, about 160 km from here. They took away the service revolver and a few cartridges of his security guard.
"The attacked site is in the interior area in Raipur district close to the Orissa state border. The MLA was present when armed Maoists raided his house. He is safe," officials at the police headquarters here said. "I am untouched and now safe but the incident has shocked me. They (the Maoists) have taken away the arms of my security guard. They argued with me for a while and raised slogans like `Lal Salam` and `Maoists zindabad`," Pujari said over the phone from his ancestral village in an interior area of Raipur and close to the Orissa border.
He said he was too stunned to give any details.
"I am the legislator of the state`s ruling party and my house was attacked by armed Maoists. Though they spared me, police and authorities of Chhattisgarh are yet to take trouble to contact me whether I am safe or not," Pujari said. The home department, it is learnt, has directed that police forces be rushed to Pujari`s house. Efforts have also begun to strengthen the security cover provided to politicians who will be heading to their ancestral homes or constituencies in Maoist stronghold areas to celebrate Diwali.
IANS