On Wednesday, in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh, it is suspected that Maoists were responsible for an explosion that resulted in the deaths of ten police officers and a driver of a goods van.which is approximately 450 km from the state capital Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The security personnel were travelling in a goods minivan when Maoists detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).
The day before the attack in Dantewada, Inspector General of Police of Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, had stated that over 400 Maoist cadres were surrendering each year. He mentioned that a special campaign called “Lone Varratu” had been launched in Dantewada district, which had yielded positive results. However, after the attack on Wednesday, Sundarraj confirmed that the bodies of the deceased were being recovered from the site, and that a search for the Maoists involved in the attack was underway. The victims have been identified as head constable Joga Sodhi, head constable Munna Ram Kadti, head constable Santosh Tamo, constable Dulgo Mandavi, constable Lakhmu Markam, constable Joga Kawasi, constable Hariram Mandavi, and gopaniya sainiks Raju Ram Kartan, Jairam Podiam, and Jagadish Kawasi.
The attack that occurred on Wednesday marks the second incident of its kind in Chhattisgarh in as many weeks. A DRG jawan was injured in a similar attack that took place in Bijapur on April 17. According to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a special branch of the Chhattisgarh police tasked with combating Maoists, was engaged in an anti-naxal operation in the area at the time of the attack. In a tweet, he expressed his sadness over the news of the deaths of the 10 DRG jawans and a driver due to the IED blast and offered condolences to their families.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has updated Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the situation in the wake of the attack, and Shah has promised to provide all possible assistance to Baghel. In the past week, the Chhattisgarh police have engaged in several other encounters with Maoists. One Maoist cadre was killed, and two were arrested in the Bastar district on April 18. On the same day, Congress MLA Vikram Mandavi’s convoy was attacked by Maoists, but he managed to escape unharmed. Two days later, a Chhattisgarh Police jawan was critically injured in an IED explosion in the Bijapur district, which is also affected by insurgency.
Courtesy: Image source – FirstPost
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