May 1: Naxals on Wednesday blasted a police vehicle in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, said police. An IED blast was executed by naxals on a police vehicle carrying 16 security personnel.
15 security personnel have been confirmed dead in the IED blast by Naxals, news agency reported citing official sources.
The death toll is likely to rise. "We suspect that 15 police jawaans and a driver have lost their lives in this incident," Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar was quoted by news agency.
An exchange of fire is underway in the area. More details awaited.
This is the second major Maoist attack since the beginning of the Lok Sabha elections. A BJP MLA and five security personnel in his convoy were killed in a Maoist attack in Bastar of Chhattisgarh on April 9.
Earlier in the day, Naxals had torched around 25 vehicles of a road construction company in Gadchiroli. The incident took place at Dadapur in Kurkheda tehsil, Shailesh Balkawade, Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli told news agency.
"A group of Maoists gathered around 3.30 am at Dadapur where the construction of a national highway has been going on since the last few months," he said. They torched the vehicles, which were parked along the road, using kerosene and diesel, the officer added.
"After setting the vehicles on fire, the Naxals escaped into the forest. A search operation has been launched," he said.
A formal complaint about the incident is yet to be lodged, Balkawade said.
Comments
Add new comment