By IANS,
Nagpur, Oct 8 : Maoist guerrillas Thursday ambushed a police patrol and gunned down at least 18 policemen in a jungle stretch of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, officials said.
The massacre occurred about a kilometre from Laheri village when the policemen were trekking through thick forests in search of hidden Maoists, an official of the Gadchiroli district police told IANS.
Reports received by the police indicate that more than 150 Maoists were involved in the attack, one of the worst in India in recent times.
Initial reports said only two policemen were injured. Later reports put the toll at a whopping 18 in a clear indication that the entire patrol had been wiped out.
The Maoist attack – the second in less than 18 hours in the same region – came a day after Home Minister P. Chidambaram urged the Maoists to shun violence and go for a dialogue with the government.
Additional security forces were rushed to the massacre site. Maharashtra officials said combing operations were on to get the killers who fled into the forests.
Earlier, a gang of Maoists set fire to the Ramgad village panchayat building in the area late Wednesday, burning all records, furniture and fittings.
The latest incident comes days before Maharashtra votes Oct 13 to elect a new assembly.
Gadchiroli district in eastern Maharashtra is situated around 180 km from Nagpur and 1,200 km from Mumbai. It has been a bastion of Maoists for years.