The 219 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camped in Bheji village of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh has a new task since last year – providing security to road construction labourers, apart from daily anti-naxal operations.

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Once completed, the 20-km stretch between Bheji and Injaram villages would provide a motorable way for security forces and local tribals into the erstwhile villages secluded in the Maoist stronghold. On Saturday morning, as over 100 jawans went about their job, a surprise ambush by armed Maoists killed 12 of them.

The attack, one of the daring and deadliest assault in Sukma in two years, exposes the challenges even for civil work like road construction in extremist areas, and the risk paramilitary forces face.

"Naxals have been trying to disturb road construction activity for some time. We recover at least three IEDs from the stretch everyday. They fear that the security forces will ingress, once the road is constructed,'' a CRPF commander in Chhattisgarh said.

Most roads around Bheji, surrounded by deep forest, are damaged as Maoists lay mines and IEDs to disrupt connectivity. Road transport is limited and buses ply only on outer main roads. As a result, villages and houses inside forest areas can be accessed only on foot or motorbike. "We have made ingress and covered a lot of areas, forcing them to retreat. This has weakened them as they are losing ground,'' said Commandant of the 219 Battalion Raj Kumar Nigam. "The attack is an act of desperation, to give a warning and make us alert to their presence," he said.

But the task of constructing roads in areas dominated by armed guerrillas is highly risky and lengthy, often taking months to complete a few hundred metres. The CRPF must clear a 50 metre-stretch daily before it can give its nod to the labourers to begin work. This involves using anti-mine devices. The construction material has to be sourced in small quantities from distant places, as ferrying large quantity is not always possible for the contractor. The work takes place during day time due to lack of electricity.

Nigam said that since the CRPF started providing protection, hundreds of quintals of IEDs have been recovered from the Bheji-Injaram stretch. The Chhattisgarh Police Housing Corp Ltd has undertaken the widening of the stretch and work is expected to be completed by June. The attack might push that deadline.

"We take utmost precautions. They haven't been able to do any major damage in the last two years,'' he said.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who visited Raipur to pay homage to the slain jawans, said that the attack was a "cowardly act" and there will be heavy retaliation. He has declared a Rs 1-crore compensation to the kin of the 12 jawans.

6 Maoists killed?

CRPF officials claimed that local villagers informed that six Maoists have been killed in a counter-attack. "Reports from the villagers say that five bodies were of men and one of a woman. Many more are likely to be injured,'' the officer said. He added that no bodies have been recovered as Maoists don't leave mortal remains behind. The armed cadre of more than 100 Maoists was allegedly led by Nagesh and Prakash, two of the most wanted.