Armed left-wing insurgents attacked a Doordarshan relay centre at Marenga in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district in the early hours of Sunday, killing three jawans of state armed force.
Chhattisgarh DGP Ramniwas told reporters that the attack on the Doordarshan transmission centre at Marenga under Parpa police station, a Naxal stronghold, was carried out either by a small action team of outlawed CPI (Maoist) or a group of ultras. While three personnel of Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) were killed, another jawan was injured in the incident.
The injured, identified as constable Mazhar Khan, has been hit by a bullet in his right chest and was in a critical condition. He was shifted to a specialised hospital at Raipur. The deceased have been identified as head constable Silbhusan Ekka, and constables Alexander Lakra and Vasudev Sahu.
Police sources said the rebels tried to loot the deceased’s weapons after killing them, but were prevented from doing so by security personnel.
“The Naxals are trying to strengthen their urban network in the state through their sympathisers. We are keeping a close watch on the Naxal sympathisers in urban areas of the state,” the DGP said. This was the first time ultras attacked a DD kendra in Chhattisgarh.
In another incident, Naxals ambushed a camp of Chhattisgarh Armed Force at Temelwada in Sukma district in the state, killing a jawan, the police said.
“Maoists opened fire targeting a camp of CAF at Temelwada, killing a jawan of the state force. The deceased was identified as Samaylal Kanwar, a native of Janjgir-Champa district in Chhattisgarh”, additional SP of Sukma district S.R. Bhagat said.