Maoists blow up CRPF vehicle; 8 troopers killed

2 civilians were also injured in the attack

“The Maoists blew up a bullet-proof vehicle in the Koretal forest stretch with a landmine. At least eight CRPF men were killed,” Director General of Police Vishwa Ranjan said. A CRPF trooper was injured.

Two civilians who were on a motorcycle in the vicinity when the landmine exploded with a deafening roar were also injured. The dead men were from the 168 CRPF battalion, Ranjan said.

The attack took place in the sprawling Bastar region where the Maoists killed 75 CRPF personnel and a Chhattisgarh policeman and took away their arms and ammunition on April 6. It was the deadliest Maoist strike since their insurgency began in the country more than four decades ago from the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal.

The April massacre shocked India’s security establishment as the supposedly trained CRPF men had walked into a Maoist trap and were killed after being ringed from three sides.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist, which is now active in dozens of districts across the country, vowed to carry out more such attacks on security forces.

Officials admit that the CPI-Maoist is the de facto ruler in the forested interiors of mineral-rich Bastar region.