10 policemen missing after Maoist ambush in Chhattisgarh
May 24th, 2011 - 11:21 am ICT by IANSRaipur, May 24 (IANS) Ten police personnel, including an additional superintendent of police, are missing since Monday afternoon after Maoists ambushed their vehicle at a thickly forested area along the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border, police said Tuesday.
“We are still bracketing the policemen as ‘missing’. Last night, we could not reach the attack site as it was densely forested. A strong police contingent has been dispatched to the site early morning, but we can’t confirm the number of casualties till we recover the bodies,” Additional Director General of Police Giridhari Nayak told IANS.
The guerrilla attack has stunned the police department as it is the first Maoist ambush in Raipur district, along the state’s border with Orissa. The Maoist violence was till now confined mainly to Chhattisgarh’s southern tip of Bastar region.
When asked to comment about TV reports saying that all the 10 Chhattisgarh policemen were killed in the attack, Nayak said: “I can’t go by TV reports, we will confirm the casualties only when our men reach the spot.”
He said that Maoists ambushed the 10-member police search squad, led by Additional Superintendent of Police Rajesh Pawar, when they were returning in a tractor to Gariaband in Raipur district from the Orissa border.
“The police team had gone to the Orissa border in a Bolero vehicle after they received information that two Maoists had surrendered, but the vehicle developed some technical snag and the police team hired a tractor,” he said.
Chief Minister Raman Singh has ordered top officials to launch a search operation.
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- Nine Chhattisgarh policemen killed in Maoist ambush (Second Lead) - May 24, 2011
- Maoists attack Chhattisgarh police station, no casualty (Lead) - Jun 13, 2011
- Chhattisgarh cops in gun-battle with Maoists (Lead) - May 24, 2011
- Chhattisgarh plans anti-Maoist drive along Orissa border - Jun 07, 2011
- Three CRPF men killed in Chhattisgarh Maoist attack (Lead) - Jun 11, 2011
- Chhattisgarh's wounded cop found a week after Maoist ambush - May 30, 2011
- Maoists attack police station in Chhattisgarh - Jun 13, 2011
- Four killed as Chhattisgarh Congress chief's convoy ambushed - Jul 21, 2011
- 10 killed as Maoists ambush police party (Second Lead) - Aug 20, 2011
- Cops, Maoists gun battle in Chhattisgarh - May 24, 2011
- 10 killed as Maoists trap police party in ambush (Third Lead) - Aug 20, 2011
- Maoist attack: Who asked Chhattisgarh cops to enter Orissa? - May 27, 2011
- Lone surviving cop of Maoist attack seeks revenge - Jun 06, 2011
- After attack, Chhattisgarh hunts for Maoists - Oct 22, 2011
Tags: border police, chief minister, forested area, guerrilla attack, maoist, maoists, missing since monday, monday afternoon, nayak, orissa, pawar, police search, police team, policemen, raipur, raman singh, search operation, southern tip, technical snag, tv reports