9 CRPF men killed in Naxal triggered blast in Sukma
RAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Nine CRPF personnel were on Tuesday killed after Maoists blasted their mine protected vehicle using over 50 kg of explosives in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma, about a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district.
Officials said the incident took place around 12:30 pm along the 5-km under-construction Kistaram-palodi road when the troops of the 212th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were out for an operation.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the incident was “deeply distressing” and asked CRPF Director General R R Bhatnagar to rush to Chhattisgarh.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families of those personnel who lost their lives in Sukma blast. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured jawans,” he said.
The home minister spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh who briefed him about the incident, steps taken for the jawans’ treatment and operations to arrest those involved. The armoured MPV had gone about 10-feet into the air and crashed on the ground before splitting into pieces. All the personnel were killed due to the impact of the blast even as many were thrown out of the vehicle, officials said.
“The troops who came under attack were travelling in the MPV and going towards a newly-opened post in Palodi. Naxals were first spotted in the area around 8 am, and the COBRA teams effectively retaliated and broke the ambush.
“However, when a convoy of motorcycles and 2 MPVS were crossing the area in the noon, the second mine protected vehicle got caught in the blast,” Bhatnagar said in Delhi.
He had returned from the state only on Tuesday morning after conducting an official tour.
When asked why MPVS were being used despite their vulnerability in Naxal areas, the DG said they were used sparingly and that they had not been entirely abandoned for use in operations.
A senior CRPF official in Raipur said the patrol squad had launched the search-cumarea domination operation from Kistaram towards Palodi, located around 500 km from here, given the visit of Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena in Palodi on Monday.
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday claimed the Centre had failed to control Left-wing extremism with its "aimless" and "flawed" policies on national security which had created disquiet internally and on the borders, and said the latest attack on a CRPF team exposed the government's hollow claims on ending Naxalism.
The Congress also described the attack on the CRPF on Tuesday in Chhattisgarh's Sukma as a mindless and ruthless strike on security forces by the ultras, with party chief Rahul Gandhi saying that it reflected a deteriorating internal security situation as a result of "flawed policies".
The party expressed solidarity with the families of those killed, while hoping that the injured would soon recover.
"The Maoist attack in Sukma, Chhattisgarh, in which 9 CRPF jawans lost their lives is tragic. It reflects a deteriorating internal security situation due to flawed policies," Gandhi tweeted. He also expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.
At least nine personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force's 212 Battalion were killed and two injured in a powerful IED blast in Sukma district today. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala recalled a gruesome attack in Sukma last year in which 26 CRPF personnel were killed and said the BJP government had not learnt any lessons from the 2017 ambush.
"Endangering India's national security is a direct consequence of the Modi government's aimless, irresolute and inconsistent policies. Modi had sold the 'national security' plank hard to attain power, but in the past four years, we have only witnessed a precarious security situation in the country," he said in a statement.
Surjewala said ceasefire violations from across the border, cross-border infiltration, terror attacks on security installations and Naxal attacks in the states had increased under the BJP.
"Hollow claims, sloganeering and drafting acronyms for propaganda cannot be a substitute to sound policy measures. Rhetoric and headline management only exacerbate the situation and endanger our people," he said. Surjewala said after demonetisation, Modi had made "boastful" claims of ending terrorism and Naxalism.
"But the facts tell a different story," he said. After the ban on high currency notes, there were 23 major Naxalite attacks in which 97 security personnel and 121 civilians were killed, he said, adding that post-demonetisation, 53 major terror incidents had taken place in J&K alone, in which 99 security personnel and 64 civilians were killed.