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 Chhattisgarh-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 Chhattisgarh and is close to the Orissa border, Inspector General of Police Rajesh Mishra said today.Nine policemen, including Pawar, were killed, he said while noting that one of the policemen in the team is missing.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.The IG said there was retaliatory fire by the personnel, but there is no report of any Maoist casualty. 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.
Comments
0 comment