DD CAMERAMAN DIES IN ATTACK IN NAXAL AREA

Two policemen and a cameraperson of Doordarshan were killed and two others injured in a Maoist attack on Tuesday in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district.

The incident took place at around 11 am in a forest area; the Maoists had ambushed a squad of local police which was patrolling in the vicinity on motor cycles. A three-member team of Doordarshan was travelling for election-related news coverage at the same time and was caught in the crossfire. The slain DD News Cameraman was identified as Achyutanand Sahu, who had come from New Delhi for the election coverage. The other two members of the DD team, including a journalist, were safe, the officer said. The state is going to polls next month and Naxalites have asked voters to boycott the exercise.

Recalling the incident, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav was unable to hold back his tears. "For the last fortnight, media persons are visiting remote villages to report problems of locals ahead of the polls. The Maoists were infuriated by the visits and the Dheeraj Kumar, a media

person who survived the attack, said, "Cameraman Sahu was in a separate car, just 50 metres ahead, when he was fired upon. When the firing started, I happened to fall into a pit. For 45 minutes, I could hear bullets being fired and grenades exploding nearby."