Maoists kill paramilitary trooper

AFP/Raipur

Maoist rebels yesterday shot dead a senior paramilitary officer in a fresh gun battle just one week after they killed 24 people, including Congress politicians, in an ambush.

Security forces have been engaged in a long-running and bloody conflict with the outlawed Maoists in central India.

“When a police party was on a combing operation (looking for rebels), Maoists sprayed bullets on them,” police inspector general Ashok Juneja said.

He said an assistant commander of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was killed in the firing in the Khallari jungle of Dhamtari district, some 150km southwest of Chhattisgarh state capital Raipur.

Last Saturday, the Maoists massacred 24 people, including state Congress Party president Nand Kumar Patel, his son Dinesh and the former leader of opposition, Mahendra Karma.

Since last weekend, security forces have been carrying out a major hunt for the rebels.

The Maoists said last weekend’s ambush, the deadliest attack in three years, was to avenge killings by security forces.

That assault took place as the convoy of politicians and security men was travelling through the forested Sukma area, about 345km from Raipur.

The guerrillas, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor tribal minorities and subsistence farmers, have waged a decades-long battle across central and eastern states to overthrow state and national authorities.

The Indian government describes the rebels as the country’s most serious internal security threat. The revolt has cost thousands of lives.