Posted on 06 Feb 2006

Two killed in naxalite ambush in Bastar Raipur : At least two security personnel were reportedly killed today and 15 were injured in a naxalite attack at Kothacheru village in Dantewada district’s Bheji area, police sources said.

Police sources said the incident took place at around noon when a group of armed naxalites triggered a blast and later opened fire at paramilitary forces, which were patrolling naxalite-infested Konta region.

Police confirmed about an ongoing encounter at Kothacheru, more than 400 km from here, but refused to divulge details about casualty or injuries saying that a clear picture would emerge only after police parties returned to the district headquarters.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) M W Ansari and other senior officials have left for Kothacheru, while additional police force has been pressed into service to assist the security forces in search operations in the area.

A helicopter was expected to reach the village from Hyderabad to airlift the injured to the nearby hospital, police sources added.

It was also not clear whether the Naga Battalion or the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had faced the naxalite attack in the village.

DGP Om Prakash Rathor and Addtl DGP (Naxalite operations) S K Paswan were in Jashpur where the naxalites had blown up a police outpost at Ara village, bordering Jharkhand.