Bloodbath at Basaguda: Naxals attack Chhattisgarh village

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, Mar 6 (UNI) Stepping up violence in tribal areas, several hundred armed naxals stormed a village last night, slaying four persons, seriously injuring ten and abducting five persons at Basaguda, about 230 km from here, in Dantewada district, police said.

CPI(Maoist) cadres, numbering nearly 4,000, cordoned off the village and opened indiscriminate fire to terrorise villagers who have been participating in 'Salwa Judum', an anti-naxal campaign launched by tribals.

A fierce encounter continued for a few hours as security personnel present around Basaguda retaliated. Later, the rebels retreated into the forests.

All the injured were rushed to a hospital at Bijapur, about 30 km from Basaguda.

IG (Bastar Range) M W Ansari and other officers have rushed to the village while additional security personnel have been rushed there to undertake an intensive combing operation in the area.

Stung by 'Salwa Judum', the movement against the three-decade-old problem of naxal violence, the extremists have stepped up violence in South Bastar region over the last few months.

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