9 killed after police vehicle blown up by naxals in bijapur

9 killed after police vehicle blown up by naxals in bijapur

Naxal IED Blast In Chhattisgarh: At least eight security personnel and a driver were killed Monday after a police vehicle came under attack by Maoists in the jungle area of Kutru in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, one of the worst Left Wing Extremism-affected districts in the region.

“Maoists blew up a police vehicle using an Improvised Explosive Device on the Kutru Bedre road. More information will be provided,” said Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P.

Sources said the forces were returning today from conducting their first anti-Naxal operation this year in Abujhmad on Saturday. The operation had started on January 3 (Friday).

It’s not uncommon for Maoists to attack security forces while they are returning, as they are often tired and hungry after undertaking operations that last days.

The Kutru area is near Abujhmad, where an encounter took place last week in which five Maoists were gunned down, and a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan was killed by the Maoists.

“Acting on the presence of Maoists in Abujhmad (also known as Maad), a joint operation was undertaken by DRG teams from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Jagdalpur, Kondagaon and Special Task Force,” Sundarraj had said earlier.

Abujhmad is a vast region unsurveyed since India’s Independence, larger than the state of Goa. It is said to be the last haven for top Naxal leaders in the country.

On Saturday evening, an encounter broke out, and intermittent firing continued for hours. After the firing stopped, search operations were conducted and the bodies of four Maoists dressed in the uniform of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), an armed wing of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), were recovered.

DRG head constable Sannu Karam also lost his life in the encounter.

Last year, 217 Maoists were gunned down, including more than 100 in and around Abujhmad, as part of the Maad Bachao Abhiyan undertaken by the forces.