By IANS
Raipur : Chhattisgarh Home Minister Ramvichar Netam told the state assembly Tuesday that 24 policemen including 16 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel have been missing since Monday afternoon after a two-hour-long gun battle with Maoists in Dantewada district.
"As many as 16 CRPF men, six special police officers (SPOs) and two district force personnel are missing after the operation," Netam said.
He added that back up forces have been sent to hilly pockets of the region to find the missing policemen. A helicopter from state capital Raipur was Tuesday dispatched to Dantewada's Konta block to assist the police in the search operation.
A senior police officer from Bastar told IANS that hundreds of CRPF men and the local police combed the entire Konta block till 3 p.m. Monday but no policeman was found.
"A total of 115 policemen, including 84 SPOs, led by 28 personnel of CRPF's 55th battalion went to the hilly Konta block Monday afternoon to bust a Maoist hideout but about 300-400 Maoists attacked the combing force. The encounter left two CRPF men and five SPOs critically wounded," Netam told the assembly.
He added that throughout Monday night a police team led by Dantewada district superintendent of police Rahul Sharma continued with the anti-Maoist operation in Konta block, 510 km south of capital Raipur.
Three police personnel, two special police officers and a CRPF jawan were critically wounded in Monday's gun battle with the Maoists. All three injured policemen were taken to a hospital at Bhadrachalam town in Andhra Pradesh state that borders Dantewada district.
Police estimate that about 5,000 Maoists armed with AK-47 rifles and landmines are active in Chhattisgarh's southern hilly districts. They are backed by about 20,000 cadres who carry self-loading rifles and traditional weapons like bows and arrows.