Red terror struck again in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday with Naxalites killing at least 26 CRPF personnel. This is the fourth major attack on security forces in the past three months in the state.
According to reports reaching here, a 63-strong CRPF party from 39th battalion was returning after a road opening duty in an area under Dhaurai police station in Narayanpur district of the state, at about 3 pm. Naxals may have been watching the pattern and deployed around 100 cadres to ambush the CRPF party as it returned on Tuesday afternoon.
CRPF men were securing the area ahead of a two-day Naxal-sponsored bandh starting on Wednesday. The Maoists opened fire from a hilltop when the paramilitary men were returning from their duty on foot, CRPF chief Vikram Srivastava said.
There was high casualty as the personnel appear to have once again disregarded standard operating procedures (SOP) by walking too close together.
Reinforcements were on the way and IAF helicopters would be used to evacuate the injured and bring back the dead to Raipur, said home ministry sources. There is no confirmation of casualties on the Maoists’ side.
The series of high-casualty attacks over the last few months has exposed the vulnerability of the CRPF personnel, mainly on account of their failure to follow SOP.
For the Centre, this represents yet another embarrassment and showcases its lack of intelligence inputs and cluelessness in tackling the Maoists. After the Dantewada attack, there was expectation the response mechanism would improve.
Strongly condemning the attack, the BJP said the ‘heinous crime’ proved once again that there was a need for closer Centre-state co-ordination and a decisive fight to end the menace.
“BJP strongly condemns this heinous crime. We have maintained that there is a need for firm action and for closer Centre-state coordination to strengthen the fight against Naxalism,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
“The time has come for a decisive battle against Maoist violence. Such attacks are a big challenge and should be addressed accordingly,” Mr Hussain said.
The attack comes nearly three months after the April 6 Dantewada massacre by Maoists which left 75 CRPF personnel and one Chhattisgarh policeman dead.
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