In the second Maoist ambush in 48 hours, two CRPF personnel lost their lives while they were guarding road construction work underway in insurgency-hit Bijapur district on Sunday.
Just a day ago, a CRPF trooper of ‘Road Opening Party’ (ROP) was killed in a similar ambush under the limits of Awapalli police station in the district. Sunday’s incident occurred in an area under Basaguda police station limits, Inspector General of Police (Bastar), SRP Kalluri informed The Pioneer.
He said that the troopers came under heavy gun fire from Maoists resulting in their death.
However, when the other CRPF personnel in the squad launched a retaliatory attack, the insurgents fled into the jungle, Kalluri said, adding , reinforcement was quickly sent on the spot as soon as the news of ambush was received.
It was raining heavily and since working hours for the road construction are fixed, the Maoists had made a guess about the presence of troopers at the spot and may have planned their attack accordingly, he said. We are committed to support development work in Bastar region, Kalluri remarked.