5 policemen killed in Naxal ambush in Bastar

Naxalites ambushed a team of security personnel deployed to provide security cover to an infrastructure development project in restive Bastar region and killed five security personnel including an officer Friday afternoon.

The incident took place at around 12 noon when a team of security personnel comprising 12 jawans were moving to provide security to the staff of a company building state highway between Bacheli and Kuwakonda in Dantewada district.

The team was led by station house officer of Kuwakonda Vivek Shukla.

“The security personnel were on two-wheelers and the rebels attacked them when they reached Shyamagiri hills,” additional director general of police (anti-Naxal operations) R K Vij said. Five jawans including Shukla were killed while three sustained injuries of which condition of one was reported to be critical, Vij said.

The four jawans escaped unhurt. The rebels later set the motorcycles on fire and loot the weapons before fleeing into the forests. The reinforcement was sent to the spot from Kuwakonda—about 5 km from the spot—that arranged to send the injured to the hospital and launch a combing operation in the area.

Report reaching from Dantewada said that the troop suffered the casualty in the first fire as the jawans immediately took position and retaliated to safe further loss.

The rebels were reported to be 50 to 60 in number, the officials added.

Following Naxal violence, a large number of infrastructure development works had come to a standstill in red zone.

Most of the companies bagging contract had been refusing to work in the region following threat from the rebels.

The state government had ensured that a thick security cover would be provided to the persons engaged in the development works. The rebels targeted the team today that was engaged in the job.