Caught in naxal ambush, DD staffer records message for mother

"Mummy, I love you. I may be killed in this attack ... I feel no fear."

Doordarshan staffer Mormukut Sharma recorded the poignant message lying flat in a ditch, his stoic face inches away from the lens of a television camera capturing the drama around him – bullets flying above him, making sharp hissing sounds intermittently as Naxals and policemen exchanged gunfire for nearly an hour.

Sharma, a 35-year-old lighting assistant of DD News, and journalist Dhiraj Kumar survived the gunfire after a Naxal ambush on a police convoy in Chattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday, reports PTI.

But their colleague, cameraman Achyutanand Sahu, tragically died in the early minutes of the ambush when he was hit by a bullet while riding pillion with a policeman on a motorcycle.

The three-member crew from New Delhi was in the state for coverage of next month's Assembly polls and had joined the police party travelling on eight motorcycles through a desolate and forested area on their way to Nilawaya village, about 450 kilometres from the state capital, Raipur. "There is a terror attack. We are in Dantewada for election coverage. While on the way, accompanied by the army (sic), we were suddenly ambushed by Naxals," Sharma says in the message to his mother while lying on the ground.

Amidst the sound of gunfire, he is heard saying, "we are surrounded from all sides. It is difficult to survive in this situation. There are six to seven jawans."

In the message, he also says, "Mummy, If I survive, I will be thankful. Mummy,I love you. I may be killed in this attack. The situation is not good. Dont know why, despite staring at death, I feel no fear."

The recording was posted by Doordarshan on Twitter.

Sahu and two policemen, SubInspector Rudra Pratap Singh and Assistant Constable Manglu, were killed and two other security personnel were injured in the attack. One of the injured policeman succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday.