Shinde vows vengeance

Raipur: Apparently moved by the brutal massacre of 15 jawans, some of whom were stabbed to death after being shot by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Tuesday, Union home minister Sushil kumar Shinde on Wednesday  vowed to “avenge” the killings.

“We will definitely take revenge,” Mr Shinde, who was on a day’s visit to the state to take stock of the situation told reporters here.

Asked how serious he was on his words (of taking revenge), he replied firmly that “I have never said so earlier. I am saying this for the first time and I mean it. We will not allow martyrdom of our jawans to go waste. The Central and state forces jointly act ruthlessly against the Naxals and hunt down the Maoists involved in the ambush,” he iterated.

Mr Shinde said the attack could be an attempt to disrupt the Lok Sabha elections beginning April 7. But the parliamentary elections would be conducted successfully in the way the Assembly elections were held recently with provision of adequate forces.