News / India

Maoists kill seven policemen in central India

Saturday, 11 April 2015 4:37 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 11 April 2015 4:36 PM ]

Maoist rebels in India (© AFP)

A group of Maoist rebels has ambushed a convoy of police vehicles in a remote part of central India, killing at least seven police officers and injuring several others, security sources say.

The deadly attack took place on Saturday in the impoverished and densely-forested Chhattisgarh State, where a large number of Maoist rebels are present.

The attack happened as Indian security forces were carrying out a massive security operation in the Sukma district of the state.

“Seven security forces have been killed and 10 others have been injured in the encounter that took place in Sukma region,” media outlets quoted Rajinder Kumar Vij, the chief of the anti-Maoist operations in the state, as saying.

Sources say additional security reinforcements were being rushed to the troubled area.

Maoist rebels at a training camp in India. (© AFP)

Meanwhile, Police Deputy Inspector General A. N. Upadhyaya said rescue efforts were being hampered by bad weather, adding, “We are trying to airlift those who are injured to our base in Jagdalpur.”

This is not the first such attack by Maoist rebels in India. The ambush is the latest in a simmering conflict that pits the Moist rebels against Indian forces in the remote areas of mainly central and eastern India.

At least 29 policemen were killed in two separate attacks across Chhattisgarh State in March and December last year.

Reacting to the latest attack, Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress, expressed grave concern over the continuing attacks by Maoists in Chhatisgarh. Gandhi hoped that authorities would take appropriate measures to ensure adequate compensation and treatment to the injured.

India’s former Premier Manmohan Singh had described the Maoists as the gravest threat to the country’s internal security.

Indian security forces inspect the site of a mine attack in Chhattisgarh State. (File photo)

The rebels, who are supported by tribal groups and landless farmers, have fought against the state and central government for many years. Thousands of people have died in the Maoist-related clashes over the past three decades. The Maoist militancy has now spread to 20 of the 28 Indian states.

JR/HJL/SS

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