By IANS
Raipur : Hundreds of police stations located in Maoist strongholds in Chhattisgarh have been put on alert Thursday, a day after guerrillas blew up a police station and killed three policemen in Bastar district, official sources said.
“Police stations and guard posts in sensitive areas have been put on alert in the wake of a surprise attack by guerrillas Wednesday evening,” a home department official told IANS.
About 35 rebels armed with self loading rifles (SLRs) and explosives surrounded the Vishrampuri police station in Bastar district around 8.30 p.m. Wednesday and fired over 100 rounds all around after snapping telephone and power lines and blocking all approach roads.
At least three constables were killed in the attack while two other policemen were critically wounded. The rebels, who came in four vehicles, blew up the police station before disappearing into the nearby forest.
The Vishrampuri police station is located some 225 km south of state capital Raipur.
“Thousands of policemen and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers have been asked to be in touch with police stations in Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bastar and Kanker districts for instant reinforcement in case of Maoist attacks,” a police officer told IANS.
The attack is being seen as retaliation to Director General of Police (DGP) Vishwaranjan’s statement to the media.
The DGP Tuesday said: “Police will take the rebels head on in their hideouts.”
About 900 people killed have been killed in Maosit related violence in Chhattisgarh since 2005.