M A I N   N E W S

Maoists kill CRPF officer in C’garh

Raipur, June 1
A CRPF officer was today killed in an encounter with suspected Maoists in Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh. Assistant Commandant SK Das was leading a squad of his men in the forests of Gariaband, 150 km from here, when the patrol encountered an armed Maoist squad around 3 pm.

Das succumbed to bullet injuries which he had received in his abdomen and groin region, sources said.

He was leading a team of CRPF men belonging to the 211 battalion for a special anti-Maoist operation in the area.

Maoists had carried out a deadly ambush in the Darbha valley area of Bastar in the state on May 25 killing 28 persons, including state PCC chief Nand Kumar Patel and another prominent party leader Mahendra Karma.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh today directed district collectors and SPs to review on a regular basis the security of public representatives across the state and especially in the Maoist-affected regions.

District collectors and superintendents of police were asked to consult office-bearers of political parties before finalising the security arrangement for MPs, MLAs and other public representatives.

"Adequate security should be provided to public gatherings and rallies of political parties after consulting their office bearers. On getting information about political programmes, the officials should contact the office-bearers (of political parties) and should check and discuss the security arrangements on prior basis", the CM said. — PTI

Mahendra Karma’s PSO succumbs to injuries

Senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma's PSO, who was critically injured in the deadly Maoist attack in Bastar, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital here on Saturday, taking the death toll in the tragedy to 28.