The attack, which came amid a major Indian offensive aimed at crushing the Maoists, also known as Naxalites, fueled concerns the government is sending poorly trained forces to the front lines to battle the raging insurgency.

Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, the nation’s top law enforcement official, said the troops were part of a joint operation involving state forces and paramilitary fighters.

“But something has gone very wrong. They seemed to have walked into a trap set by the Naxalites. Casualties are quite high and I am deeply shocked,” he said.

At least 82 troops were in the patrol that had spent three or four days scouring forests in the rebel stronghold of Dantewada, in Chhattisgarh state, said R.K. Vij, the inspector general of state police.

Early Tuesday, rebels ambushed some of the troops, killing at least three of them, he said. Another 17 soldiers who went to recover the bodies were killed when their vehicle was blown up by a land mine, Vij said — although it was designed to withstand such explosives.

Rebel fighters occupying positions on nearby hilltops then began firing barrages of bullets down on the remaining troops, he said. The bodies of 76 paramilitary troops were recovered by Tuesday afternoon in the remote and heavily forested area, he said. The government found no rebel bodies, Vij said.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government placed security forces on high alert in Maoist-infested Gadchiroli and Gondia districts.

A state Home Ministry official told Arab News security was beefed up in the two districts that border on Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Maoists, he said, sneak into Gadchiroli, Gondia and even in Chandrapur from adjoining states carrying arms and ammunitions.

The official said more than 1,800 police personnel were involved in search operations in Gadchiroli to locate Maoist hide-outs.

Chief Minister Ashok Chavan recently warned Maoists in Gadchiroli to halt their attacks or face stern response.

— With input from Shahid Burney