When Chhattisgarh Leader Was 'Welcomed' With Maoist Firing For An Hour

Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker Raman Singh had visited his Lok Sabha constituency in the Rajnandgaon district. Suddenly, guns started roaring. There was chaos on the streets. For Singh, this was his first-hand experience of Maoist violence in his state—one that he distinctly remembers.

Speaking at NDTV Chhattisgarh Conclave, the former chief minister recounted the time his state was deeply affected by Maoist violence.

Singh had visited Chhuriya, a town in his Lok Sabha constituency. It's not known exactly when this occurred.

The Speaker said that while entering Chhuriya, he saw some men in uniform laying barbed wire. He asked the then MLA about the heavy police deployment. He explained that the police force was meant for his security. There was a bus parked at a distance. Once he crossed the bus and entered the town, gunfire started.

"When I entered Chhuriya, gunfire erupted a short distance away, near a police station. I asked the MLA about it. He said that firecrackers were being burst to celebrate my visit. Hundreds of villagers ran towards me and rescued me from the jeep. They took me to an officer's house," Singh said at the conclave.

The firing continued for an hour. After it stopped, Singh was the first person to reach the Chhuriya police station. The sub-inspector and two constables had survived the attack. They defended the police station by firing continuously. A Maoist was killed.

"I still remember the incident. I saw them on the road and realised what had happened only after the gunfire started. This was the reality of Chhattisgarh once upon a time," he recounted.

Singh also criticised the previous governments for a lack of intent to eradicate Maoist violence from Chhattisgarh.

"There was a Congress government in Delhi and then a BJP government in Chhattisgarh. The then Congress-led central government wasted 10 years. Had the then government possessed the ability to formulate policies and make decisions, Naxalism would have been eradicated from Chhattisgarh long ago," Singh said.