Fifteen tribals killed in inhospitable terrain of Chattisgarh

Jagdalpur, Bastar, Apr 29 (UNI) At least fifteen people were killed while the fate of 35 others, who were among 50 people taken hostage by CPI(M) Naxalites on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, was still not known.

The bodies of 13 tribals in the 18-35 year age group were found lying this morning on the roadside and nearby areas at the remote Manikonta village on Sukma-Konta road, police said. Two people were hacked to death on Tuesday itself.

After the postmortem on the spot, the last rites of the 13 youths would be performed at the village itself, police added.

A bus driver initially tipped off the police about the bodies lying near a roadside at Manikonta village, from where these people were abducted on Tuesday.

The CPI(Maoists) have recently stepped up violence after the state government appointed former Punjab DGP K P S Gill as its Security Adviser to stamp out naxal menace in more than 10 of the state's 16 districts.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Raman Singh is air-dashing to Dantewada to take stock of the situation arising from the incident and also preside over a meeting of Bastar Development Authority.

More than 50,000 tribals were housed in different relief camps opened by the state government in Dantewada district after the anti-naxal campaign 'Salwa Judum' was launched in June last. The tribals caught in the hostilities between ultras and security forces have deserted few hundred villages and taken shelter in camps.

UNI XC-SP AT HT1317