By IANS,
Raipur : A constable was killed and eight special police officers (SPOs) went missing after heavily armed Maoists attacked them Wednesday in Chhattisgarh’s restive Dantewada district, police said.
The attack took place Wednesday afternoon at a forested stretch near village Murligura, close to the Andhra Pradesh border, some 500 km south of Chhattisgarh capital Raipur.
“Armed insurgents, who were waiting for the eight-member SPO team led by a police constable, opened indiscriminate fire at the team. The constable was killed on the spot,” Dantewada police chief Rahul Sharma told IANS.
Reinforcements were rushed to the site to trace the missing SPOs, he added.
Dantewada, Bastar, Kanker, Bijapur and Narayanpur districts form the mineral rich Bastar region that is a Maoist stronghold.
Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of poor labourers and the landless pesants. They frequently attack the police, government buildings, and politicians and call for shutdowns.