Ten police officers and a driver among 11 people killed when Maoists attacked security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada area. This is the biggest attack on security forces in the insurgency-hit central Indian state since April 2021.
The officers were returning from an anti-Maoist operation when their van was blown up by an improvised explosive device (IED), according to the authorities. Images of the attack site revealed a crater created by the detonation.
Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Chattishgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel about the attack and promised all possible help to the state government. “Anguished by the cowardly attack on the Chhattisgarh police at Dantewada. He spoke to Chhattisgarh’s Chief Minister and assured all possible assistance to the state government. My condolences to the bereaved family members of the martyred Jawans,” he tweeted.
In a tweet, Baghel called the attack saddening and said the fight against Maoists is in its last stage and that the Left-wing insurgents would not be spared. He added the police personnel were attacked when they arrived for an operation based on a tip-off about the presence of Maoists under the Aranpur police station of Dantewada.
It was the biggest attack in Chhattisgarh since a shootout with Maoists in the Bastar region in April 2021, when 22 police and paramilitary personnel were killed and at least 20 more were hurt.
The fresh attack in Dantewada came months after seven security personnel, including an army jawan, were killed in suspected Maoist attacks across Chhattisgarh over one week in February.
The attacks came even as the Union government maintained there has been a decline in left-wing extremism (LWE) violence. In January, Shah said they aim to make the country free from Maoism before the 2024 general elections.