A vehicle burns after Maoists attacked a CRPF search party near Tongpal in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday morning.
Fifteen security personnel have been killed in a gun battle after Naxals ambushed them in the heavily-forested district of Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh this morning, close to the spot where 25 people, including top Congress leaders, were killed in a Naxal ambush last year.
According to sources, the Naxals first caused an explosion to stop the 50-member joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the state police and then opened fire at them in the Tongpal area near the Jeeram valley at around 10:30 this morning. A fierce encounter followed for over three hours. The gun-battle is now over and an evacuation process is on, the police said.
Among the 16 people killed in the attack, 11 are believed to be from the CRPF; four from the state police and one civilian.
The group of over 100 Naxals outnumbered the security personnel, who fought back till their ammunition ran out. The bodies of five jawans have been recovered so far.
The government reportedly did attempt to rush reinforcements, but the area is remote and not easily accessible. The Jeeram Valley is in a Naxal dominated region about 400 km south of
state capital Raipur. In April 2010, Naxals had killed 76 security personnel in the same region.
"The attack was designed at stalling the road that is being built there. Naxals fear development," chief minister Raman Singh said. The Union Home Ministry held a high-level meeting this evening where a decision was taken that additional central forces will be sent to Chhattisgarh to ensure elections are conducted without incident.
The attack comes just days after the Election Commission announced dates for this year's general elections. The Naxals oppose the state's democratic process and encourage villagers in these areas not to vote.