Maoists kill 15 Maharashtra cops in jungle ambush

CHANDRAPUR: In one of the worst Maoist attacks on security forces in Maharashtra, 15 policemen including a sub-inspector were killed in the jungles of Markegaon village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli district, around 300 km from Nagpur, on Sunday morning. No casualties were reported among the Maoists.

According to police sources, around 40 Maoists of the newly-formed Border-Platoon Dalam were involved in the ambush. Markegaon is close to the Gyrapatti-Sawargaon road and Gyrapatti police assistance centre, which is along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

The last time a Maoist attack killed cops in similar large numbers in Maharashtra was in 1992, when nine cops were gunned down in Gondia district.

The police sub-inspector killed has been identified as Bhupendra Gudgekar of Amravati. A number of cops took bullet injuries. A sources in Gadchiroli police said, ''The police party was heading towards Markegaon, some 45 km from Dhanora, to investigate into the January 30 arson committed by the Maoists, when the rebels attacked them. The police party was ambushed in such a manner that all the members, including head PSI Gudgekar, were killed on spot.''

The ambush took place at around 11.15 am. When a relief party reached the area to rescue the first team, it, too, was attacked, preventing immediate reinforcement. But by late Sunday afternoon, more than 3,000 police personnel were sent to Gadchiroli. The ambush itself was triggered after nearly 40 Maoists of Tippagarh Dalam torched a road-roller and a tractor pressed for building a bridge near Markegaon village on Sawargaon-Kotgul road, on January 30. The police party had left to investigate the arson attack and was heading for the spot for further investigation when they were ambushed in the dense forest. Condemning the attack, Maharashtra minister of state for home Nitin Raut said, ''Not satisfied with killing the cops, the Maoists also placed explosives on the bodies of dead cops. They also took away the weapons.''

He admitted that Maharashtra Anti-Naxal Operations helicopter was not flight worthy for the past few months. But another helicopter from Nagpur flew to Dhanora for rescue operation. The bodies of the cops were airlifted to Gadchiroli by Sunday evening.
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