MUMBAI: Maoist guerillas, known as Naxalites, ambushed as many as 16 police personnel including four women constables in Murum village in Dhanora town of Gadchiroli district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra on Friday.
This is the second instance of major attack in Dhanora town. On Feb. 1, 15 policemen were killed in the Morke village in an ambush. The two attacks come as a major shock to the Ashok Chavan-led Democratic Front government in the state.
Reports reaching Mumbai said that the attack took place during the routine patrolling in the area, where Naxalites were observing a two-day protest strike.
The incident, the police official said, took place at the Hattighota pahadi (hills) at Dhanora town, which is nearly 30 to 40 km away from Gadchiroli district headquarters.
Senior officials of Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO) and members of the C-60 commando unit are on their way to the spot, when last reports came in.
Stressing at development as an answer to solve the problem of violent Naxalite activities, the Maharashtra government had announced a Rs.1,350 crore package for 38 Naxalite-infested talukas of six districts — Gondia, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Yavatmal and Nanded — in Vidarbha region.
The government has also announced a surrender policy in 2005, and since then more than 300 Naxals have surrendered. After the February attack, the government had decided to develop a runway in the Gadchiroli district — for speedier movement.
