By IANS,
Raipur : At least two policemen were killed and 10 were missing after 150 heavily armed Maoist guerrillas ambushed a 41-member police force in Chhattisgarh, officials said Monday.
The attack on the District Force (DF) search convoy in Dhamtari district’s hillside Risgaon village, about 130 km from here, took place late Sunday. It was the first attack by insurgents in Dhamtari.
“It’s the first attack of insurgents in Dhamtari district. The jawans belonging to Kanker DF were travelling in three-four vehicles. Reinforcements have been rushed to the site,” said Pawan Deo, deputy inspector general (Maoist operation), police headquarters.
“Two policemen were killed and the number is likely to go up,” said Girdhari Nayak, Chhattisgarh additional director general of police.
“The heavily armed rebels first triggered multiple blasts and then opened indiscriminate fire,” Nayak told IANS.
About 10 policemen were missing. A special helicopter sent by the state government Monday morning had brought back three seriously injured policemen who have been admitted to the Ramkrishna Care Hospital here.
Rebels have stepped up attacks on police and civilians over the last week. On May 6, they killed 11 people, including seven security personnel, in Bastar region. A day later, a police station in-charge was stabbed to death in full public view in the same region.
On May 5, a senior leader of the state’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Rajnandgaon district was shot dead.