Maoist rebels in central India have killed 50 police officers in one of their worst-ever attacks in decades of insurgency, officials said on Thursday.
A large group of rebels hurled grenades, petrol bombs and fired indiscriminately at a jungle security post in Rani Bodli village in Chhattisgarh state, one of several parts of the country in the grip of a left-wing rebellion.
“Fifty police have been killed, including special police officers and state police personnel,” said KR Pisda, administrator of the area where the overnight attack took place.
The attack is “one of the worst” carried out by the insurgents, said Kanwar Pal Singh Gill, who was appointed security adviser on the Maoist issue to Chhattisgarh state government last April.
Maoist rebels say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribes and landless farmers. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Chhattisgarh and are now living in tent shelters as Indian counter-insurgency forces operate in the countryside.
The rebels, who launched their armed campaign in 1967, also operate in another 14 of India’s 29 states. New Delhi refuses to negotiate with the armed Maoists.
“I will be visiting the area this evening [Thursday] for an on-the-spot assessment,” said Gill, who is credited with tackling India’s Sikh rebellion in Punjab state in the early 1990s.
“Obviously, the lessons we draw from this attack will have to be incorporated into any strategy we draw up for the future.”
According to the Press Trust of India (PTI), at least 40 police were killed while other media reports put the death toll as high as 60.
State home minister Ram Vichar Netam said access to the area was difficult as it was heavily mined by the retreating rebels.
“Some bodies and weapons are lying in that area,” RK Vij, a senior police official, told PTI.
On March 4, high-profile federal MP Sunil Mahto was shot dead by Maoist rebels in neighbouring Jharkhand state — the first time the guerrillas have assassinated a national-level politician.
Officials have said India’s Maoist insurgency, which dates back over four decades, now threatens huge swathes of India’s centre, east and south.
Last year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the Maoists as the single biggest threat to the nation’s internal security.
In 2005, 669 people died in violence linked to more than 9 000 armed rebels who have spread over 15 states, according to government estimates.
According to a security portal run by Gill, at least 372 persons, including 154 civilians and 75 security force personnel, were killed in Maoist-related violence across the country in 2006. — AFP