At least 25 CRPF personnel were killed and six wounded in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district today, the deadliest attack by naxalites targeting security forces in 2017.
At least 25 CRPF personnel were killed and six wounded in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district today, the deadliest attack by naxalites targeting security forces this year. The naxalites mounted the assault around 12:25 PM in Kalapathar area of south Bastar region, one of the worst-hit by Left-wing extremism in the country. The area is close to the Chintagufa-Burkapal-Bheji axis, the hotbed of naxal violence which has seen a number of such attacks in the past resulting in high casualties.
"As per the latest report, we have lost 26 men. We are still to account for all the personnel and a search is on. About 7-8 boys are still missing. The last word on the encounter will come once the entire area has been searched and all troops contacted," a senior CRPF officer said, adding the paramilitary patrol was about 99 personnel-strong. The number was later revised to 25.
The incident occurred near Burkapal village within Chintagufa police station limits, Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told PTI. While 11 bodies were recovered first, 12 were found during combing operations. A jawan succumbed to injuries while being evacuated by air, the officer added. Despite Centre’s effort to curb Naxal attacks in Chhattisgarh, the restive state has witnessed rising incidence of such attacks. With the death of more than 26 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnels on Monday, there is a need for a timeline of all Naxal attacks that have been taking place in the past year.
April 24, 2017: 26 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been killed in the encounter that took place at around 12.45 p.m. between the Burkapal-Chintagufa area in the middle of Maoist violence-hit south Bastar area. Chief Minister Raman Singh has called for an emergency meeting today to take stock of the situation.
March 22, 2017: Six suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.
March 12, 2017: 12 CRPF jawans were killed in a Maoist attack in insurgency-hit Sukma district in Chhattisgarh. The attack was an ambush. After killing the jawans, the Maoists stole 10 weapons from the dead troopers and detonated an IED explosive.
January 29, 2017: A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was today killed in an explosion of a pressure bomb allegedly planted by Naxals in the insurgency-hit Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said.
November 21, 2016: Two CRPF jawans were injured in a pressure bomb blast triggered by Naxals in the dense forest of Chhattisgarh's worst insurgency-hit Sukma district.
March 31, 2016: A powerful landmine blast struck a truck filled with para-military soldiers in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur district, killing seven policemen.
February 17, 2016: Two police personnel were injured after they were shot at by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Rajnandgaon district.
Burkapal and Chintagufa are amongst the two most critical places of the CRPF deployment that exists today. The area has seen history of bloodshed perpetrated by Maoists and some of the fiercest encounters between security forces and Maoists largely since 2006, i.e creation of Salwa Judum movement. It is considered amongst the most formidable areas that Maoists have been able to create anywhere in the country.
With inputs from agencies
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