M A I N   N E W S

Chhattisgarh again: 14 killed as Maoists step up terror campaign
7 EC men among dead in back-to-back attacks in Bijapur & Bastar dists

Raipur, April 12
Seven members of a polling team and five CRPF personnel were among 14 killed as Maoists struck twice today in less than an hour, blowing up a bus and an ambulance in Bijapur and Bastar districts of Chhattisgarh.

Ten persons, including five paramilitary personnel, were also injured in the two incidents. Maoists attacked the polling team near a Bijapur village at 11 am when it was returning after voting in the region, leaving seven polling personnel dead and five injured, said Additional Director General of Police (Naxal Operation) RK Vij. Polling was held in the Maoist-affected Bastar constituency on April 10.

When the election team reached near a pond in Ketulnar village, Maoists triggered a landmine blast and opened indiscriminate firing, he said.

"Six polling personnel were killed on the spot while another succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital," the ADG said.

After preliminary treatment at a local hospital, the injured polling officials were airlifted and admitted to a private hospital in Raipur for further treatment, he said.

The rebels fled deeper into the forest after security personnel launched a retaliatory attack. Reinforcements were rushed soon and the victims were retrieved from the dense forest, he said.

Less than an hour later and about 100 km away, the Maoists blew up an ambulance carrying CRPF personnel at Kamanar village under Darbha police station, leaving five securitymen and the ambulance driver dead. A paramedic technician of the ambulance died later in a local hospital, the ADG said.

Besides, five paramilitary personnel were also injured in the incident, Vij said, adding they were airlifted to Raipur and are undergoing treatment at the private hospital. The personnel belonged to CRPF’s 80th battalion and were heading towards Jagdalpur district headquarter after a security operation in the region for the movement of polling teams. Some of them took lift in the ambulance ahead of Kamnar. Maoists were apparently keeping a watch on the movement of the security forces following which they targeted the vehicle, he said. — PTI

Twin strikes in gap of an hour

• The Maoists targeted a polling team returning in a bus near Ketulnar village in Bijapur at 11 am. When the election team reached near a pond in Ketulnar village, the Maoists triggered a landmine blast and opened indiscriminate firing
• Six polling personnel were killed on the spot while another succumbed to injuries at a local hospital, said the police
• Less than an hour later and about 100 km away, the Maoists blew up an ambulance carrying CRPF personnel at Kamanar village in Bastar, leaving five securitymen and the ambulance driver dead on the spot.
• A paramedic technician of the ambulance later died in a hospital, the ADG said