11 killed as Naxalites blow up police vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district

New Delhi, April 26

Ten police personnel and a driver were killed as Naxals blew up the vehicle in which they were travelling in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Wednesday. This was the biggest strike by Maoists in the state in the past two years.

The blast, carried out using an improvised explosive device (IED), took place under Aranpur police station area around 1 pm when a team of the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.

Attacks in Chhattisgarh

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The DRG personnel are mostly recruited from the local tribal population and trained to combat Maoists.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the Naxal attack and paid tributes to those killed in the incident. “Strongly condemn the attack on the Chhattisgarh police in Dantewada. I pay my tributes to the brave personnel we lost in the attack. Their sacrifice will always be remembered. My condolences to the bereaved families,” the PM tweeted.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reviewed the situation and spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, assuring him of all possible help from the Centre.

CM Baghel, expressing grief, said the extremists would not be spared under any circumstances. “We will work in a coordinated way and eliminate Naxalism,” he added.

The area where the blast took place is around 450 km from state capital Raipur. TV visuals from local news channels showed a huge crater, almost 10 feet deep, splitting the road at the site. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack.

The security personnel had set out from Dantewada district headquarters on getting information about the presence of Maoists in the area, the IGP said, adding that when they were returning in a van, the Maoists blew it up between Aranpur and Sameli villages. Ten DRG jawans and the civilian driver of the vehicle were killed on the spot, he said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the bodies of the deceased were being evacuated, the IGP said, adding that security personnel had launched a search operation in the area.