By IANS
Raipur : Alert security officials Tuesday evening averted an attempt by Maoist guerrillas to ambush Chhattisgarh opposition leader Mahendra Karma in Dantewada district.
Karma, who tops the hit-list of banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was returning to Dantewada from Aranpur when the rebels fired at his convoy around 4 p.m. near Potali, seven km from the district headquarters and 400 km south from here.
“The security personnel escorting (Karma) gave befitting reply and forced the rebels to retreat from the spot,” Bastar Inspector General of Police R.K. Vij said. Karma has been provided a high security cover by the state police.
Vij said the security personnel also found a powerful landmine planted on the road on which Karma’s convoy was to roll. The mine, packed with about three kg of explosive, was later defused. The Maoists were targeting Karma, he added.
The officials also spotted rebels planting another powerful mine on the same route. But the Maoists fled into forest area soon after seeing the security personnel.