'Bloody' Maoist attack leaves forces shell shocked

Raipur, Apr 7: The bloody Tuesday, Apr 6 Maoist attack on CRPF jawan has not only left the people of the country shaking but has also injected fear into the security forces as the personnel are now reportedly refusing to enter the forests.

"The Tuesday attack has rattled the entire police force engaged in the anti-Maoist operation and they are now reluctant to enter the landmine protected jungle terrain," a news agency report quotes officials posted in the interiors of the turbulant Bastar region as saying.

"It's easy for everyone to dictate to us from New Delhi and Raipur sitting in air-conditioned chambers, but here the situation is completely hostile because Maoists rule the roost in jungles. The forces in Bastar now need urgent motivation," an official said.

Authorities have deployed as many as 40,000 policemen in the restive region to retaliate the brutal attack on the CRPF jawans in a Chhattisgarh forest. 76 personnel were killed in the strike.

A police official also said that police as well as CRPF are suffering high casualties due to the lack of co-operation between the forces.

"Despite all efforts at the police headquarters and at the state government level, the CRPF is not taking local police and special police officers (SPOs) along while entering the Maoists' den and are thus getting killed without a fight," a 'noted' official is quoted as saying.

Being accompanied by the local police personnel is important as the CRPF personnel, who are outsiders, do not know about the jungles and the terrains.

The official also told the news agency that besides refusing take along at least the SPOs, the CRPF men did not follow the 48-point guerrilla warfare manuals.

OneIndia News