Maoist rebels killed 26 Indian police, wound 6 others in central India

بھارتی ریاست چھتیس گڑھ میں باغیوں کا حملہ، 26 اہلکار ہلاک

بھارتی میڈیا رپورٹس کے مطابق ریاست چھتیس گڑھ کے شورش زدہ علاقے سکما میں ماؤ نواز باغیوں کے حملے میں بھارت کی سینٹرل ریزرو پولیس فورس کے 26 جوان ہلاک اور 6 شدید زخمی ہوگئے۔ پولیس کے مطابق اہلکار ایک زیر تعمیر سڑک کی سیکیورٹی پر مامور تھے کہ اس دوران ماؤ نواز باغیوں نے ان پر اندھا دھند فائرنگ کردی۔

دوسری جانب حملے میں زخمی ہونے والے اہلکار نے بھارتی میڈیا سے بات کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ باغیوں نے پہلے ہماری جگہ کی نشاندہی کے لیے کچھ لوگ بھیجے اور پھر تقریباً 300 باغیوں نے ہم پر حملہ کردیا جب کہ ہماری جوابی فائرنگ سے کئی باغی بھی مارے گئے ہیں۔

واضح رہے بھارتی ریاست چھتیس گڑھ میں ماؤ نواز باغی سرگرم ہیں اور وہ آئے دن حکومت اور سیکیورٹی فورسز کے خلاف کارروائیاں کرتے رہتے ہیں۔

Maoist rebels killed 26 Indian police, wound 6 others in central India

Police say suspected Maoist rebels have killed 24 paramilitary commandos and wounded six others in a remote part of central India, in one of the deadliest attacks of the long-running conflict.

The soldiers were guarding road workers in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh State, a hotbed of insurgent violence, when they came under heavy fire.

"We have recovered 23 bodies from the spot and one jawan (soldier) died in Raipur during treatment," Anand Chhabra, a senior police officer, told AFP, referring to the state capital.

He said six other commandos had been critically injured and evacuated for treatment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack against the Central Reserve Police Force, saying their sacrifice would not be in vain.

"Attack on @CRPFIndia personnel in Chhattisgarh is cowardly and deplorable. We are monitoring the situation closely," Modi posted on Twitter.

Fatal attacks by insurgents on security forces in central and eastern India are frequent, but Monday's assault was among the deadliest in years.

Last month, rebels killed 11 paramilitary policemen in the same state after ambushing their convoy, while at least 20 troops died in a 2015 attack.

In 2010, Maoists ambushed a police patrol, killing 76 in the worst-ever massacre of security forces by the insurgents. The incident shook the country and led to pressure on the government to rethink its tactics.

Indian army soldiers arrive at the scene of an attack on an Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy at Pantha Chowk on the outskirts of Srinagar on April 3, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Maoist insurgency started as a peasant uprising in 1967.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of tribal people and landless farmers, often collect funds through extortion.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 states but are most active in Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

The long-running insurgency has cost thousands of lives in the insurgent-dominated "Red Corridor" stretching through central and eastern India. It was described by then-prime minister Manmohan Singh as the nation's most serious internal security threat.

Critics believe attempts to end the revolt through tough security offensives are doomed to fail, saying the real solution is better governance and development of the region.

(Source: AFP)