Maoist attack: Bodies of CRPF martyrs brought to Raipur; Rajnath Singh pays tribute

Raipur, Dec 2: A day after 13 CRPF personnel were martyred in a Maoist attack in the Naxal hotbed of Sukma district of Chhattisgrah, the bodies of all the martyrs were brought to Raipur on Tuesday afternoon.

According to TOI report, the bodies were sent for postmortem at Dr BR Ambedkar hospital. [14 CRPF personnel martyred in Maoist attack in Sukma]

The Home Minister Rajnath Singh reached Mana Camp in Barauda, Chhattisgarh to pay tributes to the martyred souls.

Calling it an act of cowardice and a "dastardly act" of violence, Rajnath said in Lucknow, "The Naxals have carried out the attack by putting innocent villagers as human shields."

15 injured jawans were also admitted to a hospital for the treatment.

The deadly Maoist ambush, claiming lives of 14 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, was planned and supervised by local Naxal leaders who were reportedly camping in south Bastar for past few days, a senior police official said on Tuesday. [Naxal ambush planned by local cadres camping in Bastar: Chhattisgarh Police]

After the encounter, Naxals looted three UBGL (under barrel grenade launcher) armoured AK-47, 7 AK-47, one Insas-LMG, one Insas, a bullet-proof jacket, a GPS, one binoculars, a monopack and several magazines of AK-47, Insas and Insas-LMG of CRPF men and fled to the dense forests, he said.

Troopers were returning to their base after conducting a search for Maoists.

The official ruled out any intelligence lapse in view of the incident and said routine area domination operations were intensified in the region from past several weeks and were not based on any specific inputs.

President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday strongly condemned the attack on CRPF troopers in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district that left 14 personnel dead. [President Pranab Mujherjee condemns attack on CRPF troopers]

The Congress also demanded in Lok Sabha dismissal of the Raman Singh government in Chhattisgarh in the wake of the latest Maoist ambush, even as the House condemned the "cowardly" act.

The attack came a day before the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army of CPI (Maoist) observes its foundation week from December 2-8.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)