Raipur: A day after a Naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the bodies of the seven policemen who were killed in the encounter will be brought to Raipur on Sunday. Twelve other policemen were also injured in the incident.
The two-hour gunbattle took place in the worst-affected Pidmel-Polampalli area of the Sukma district when a squad of state police Special Task Force (STF) was out for operations.
Officials said a group of about 300 Naxals opened heavy fire on the police team at around 9:15 AM when it was conducting a search operation in the jungles of the district, about 390 kms south of state capital Raipur.
"Ambush took place in deeply Naxal-infested area. Seven policemen were killed in ambush, 12 injured," Additional Director General of Police (Anti-Naxal operations) RK Vij said.
Chief Minister Raman Singh held a high level meeting on Saturday evening. He said, "This is the first time that such a brutal incident involving STF jawans happened. The area where the ambush took place is Naxal infested. Brave soldiers fight against all odds in tough conditions. Those injured in the attack will be promoted."
Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to Naxals not to indulge in any form of violence. "This incident is unfortunate and challenging. If Naxals don't mend their ways, then government will mount offensive."
The killed and injured have largely sustained bullet injuries, officials said as they denied usage of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) by the red ultras.
Two teams of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), who have a camp nearby, were rushed to the encounter site for assisting the police squad and launching 'cordon-and-search' operations, they said.
The killed policemen have been identified as Platoon Commander and Sub-inspector Shankar Rao, Head Constables Rohit Sodhi and Manoj Baghel, Constables Mohan V K, Rajkumar Markam, Kiran Deshmukh and Rajman Tekam.
Police officials suspect that the Maoist squad led by local leaders like Sonu, Nagesh and Hidma could be involved in the operation.
Sukma has witnessed several deadly attacks by Naxals in the past. Five years ago, 74 CRPF jawans were killed and in 2013, 25 people, including a top Congress leader from Chhattisgarh, were killed in a Naxal ambush.
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