Raipur, Sept. 18: At least 24 rebels were gunned down in the strongest attack on Maoists launched by security personnel in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh since last night.
While 10 bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far, an assistant commandant of the CRPF’s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (Cobra), Manoranjan Singh, was killed in action.
Five jawans were said to be missing and a combing operation has been launched to search for them.
This was Cobra’s maiden operation in Chhattisgarh and it involved some 600 personnel, so far the biggest movement of forces in any rebel operation in the state.
Senior police officers have denied that the operation, code name Green Hunt, was a part of the Union government’s larger plan of launching a massive anti-Naxalite operation across states.
“It was part of the state’s ongoing offensive against insurgency,” the inspector-general of police (headquarters), R.K. Vij, told The Telegraph.
Security personnel raided a rebel camp located at Palachalam, 600km south of Raipur, under Kisteram police station area on Thursday evening.
The forested and hilly area adjoining Andhra Pradesh often doubles up as a rebel hideout because of its inaccessibility. Additional director-general of police Girdhari Nayak said that jawans surrounded the area from all corners and then attacked the camp. Rebels retaliated and a gun battle ensued, continuing for the better part of the night.
Nayak added that 10 bodies were recovered and security personnel had destroyed an arms factory being run at the hideout.
During the gunfire, the assistant commandant from Manipur was killed on the spot, while four jawans were injured. The government rushed two helicopters to evacuate the injured. Sources said the condition of all those injured and admitted to Jagdalpur government hospital was critical.
The personnel then launched a massive combing operation to search for the missing jawans.
The operation coincided with the arrival of senior IPS officer Vijay Raman, 58, recently promoted by the Centre as special director-general of police to deal with the Maoist menace.
The 1973-batch officer will co-ordinate with directors general of police of seven Maoist-hit states and will be based in Raipur.
Raman landed here yesterday evening and met chief minister Raman Singh and top police officers who refused to divulge details of the meeting. He was supposed to return to New Delhi this morning, but after being informed about the operation he landed in Nagpur and rushed to Dantewada.(TELEGRAPH)
No comments:
Post a Comment