Seven STF personnel were killed and ten others injured on Saturday when Naxals ambushed them in the forests of Pidmel village under Polampalli police station limits, around 450 kms from the state capital Raipur. The deceased included a platoon commander-ranked officer.
Bodies of seven policemen of the Special Task Force (STF), who were killed in a Naxal ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, are still lying on the spot even after 24 hours.
Seven STF personnel were killed and ten others injured on Saturday when Naxals ambushed them in the forests of Pidmel village under Polampalli police station limits, around 450 kms from the state capital Raipur. The deceased included a platoon commander-ranked officer.
According to reports, bad weather and hostile terrain have hampered the evacuation operation and a rescue team is on the way to retrieve the bodies.
"The operation is underway in Polampalli region to retrieve the bodies of martyred STF personnel," said Additional Director General of Police (anti-Naxal operations) R K Vij .
"The bad weather condition and hostile terrain have affected a bit (the operation), but very soon all the bodies will be retrieved," Vij said.
Former Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Special Director General NK Tripathi said that the inability of the security forces to recover the bodies of the slain jawans from the battle-zone indicates the ‘seriousness’ of the Sukma encounter with the Naxals, adding that bad weather was also a factor in the same.
“The seriousness of the encounter between security forces and Naxals in the Sukma district can be assessed from the fact that we are not yet able to retrieve the bodies of the slain jawans from the region. Seven of our soldiers were killed in this incident including one platoon commander: their bodies are still there,” Tripathi told ANI.
Meanwhile, the injured personnel are undergoing treatment at Raipur and Jagdalpur.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh strongly condemned the attack terming it a "cowardly" and "shameful" act of violence and directed officials to track down the rebels involved in the strike.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said, "The Centre will take stringent action against the Naxalites who killed seven policemen in Sukma district in Chhattisgarh,"
Asked about the central government's stand against Naxalites, Singh tersely said,"The Centre as well as the state governments have initiated action against the Naxalites operating in the region to keep up the morale of the forces."
"Appropriate directions have been given to the state chief minister but I am not going to disclose the strategy just now before media," Singh said.
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