Around 100 armed Maoists attacked a security forces patrol, killing nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including an officer, and injuring eight troopers in Chhattisgarh's restive Bastar region on Friday. Three ultras also were killed in the retaliatory fire.
Around 100 armed Maoists attacked a security forces patrol, killing nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including an officer, and injuring eight troopers in Chhattisgarh's restive Bastar region on Friday. Three ultras also were killed in the retaliatory fire.
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The police said the Maoists, armed with AK-47s, ambushed a joint CRPF and District Forces patrol in a forested village in Dantewada district's Chintagufa area, about 445 km south of capital Raipur.
"It was an ambush. Nine CRPF men, including deputy commandant Diwakar Tiwari, were killed and at least eight other personnel received bullet wounds in a three-hour long gun battle that ended around 3:30 pm," Rahul Sharma, Dantewada district superintendent of police said.
Those killed and injured belonged to the 55th battalion of the CRPF, the official said. The police recovered the bodies of three militants besides some arms, including AK-47s, from the attack site.
Pawan Deo, deputy inspector general, police headquarters, said the injured CRPF personnel, including an assistant commandant, were airlifted to a government hospital at Jagdalpur town in Bastar district.
Maoists have stepped up violence in the state since the announcement of Lok Sabha polls last month and ordered people to stay away from the poll process. Chhattisgarh's 11 Lok Sabha seats go to the polls April 16.
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