Raipur: After a 10-month lull, the Maoists struck on Friday, killing seven policemen, including a station house officer, and injuring two others in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency wracked South Bastar district of Dantewada, 450 km from here. The incident occurred when a road opening party comprising a dozen policemen was ambushed by armed rebels near Shyamagiri hill on Kuakonda Bacheli highway at around 11.30 am.
“The police team was trying to secure an area in the Kuakonda-Bacheli route for resumption of road construction when the Maoists triggered landmine blasts near Shyamagiri hill jungle, killing seven jawans and injuring two others”, additional DGP (Naxal ops) R.K. Vij said. The Naxals also looted their victims’ weapons. Reinforcements rushed there rescued five jawans, including two injured ones. The injured were later airlifted to Raipur for medical care. The dead included a Station House Officer, two head constables and four constables.
