The attack was carried out on the Kurkheda-Korchi road near Jambhurkheda village panchayat in north Gadchiroli, which is a Naxal-hit area.
New Delhi
In a major Naxal attack in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, at least 15 C-60 commandos and a driver were killed. Naxal targeted the private vehicle they were travelling by an improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday. Today’s attack is one of the biggest that has hit the security forces in Gadchiroli in the recent years.
The attack was carried out on the Kurkheda-Korchi road near Jambhurkheda village panchayat in north Gadchiroli, which is a Naxal-hit area.
This is the second attack by Naxals in Gadchiroli in the last 24 hours. The C-60 commandos were on their way to another spot where the Naxals had torched more than 50 vehicles and machines used for road construction in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.
The incident took place early in the day when the state was getting ready to celebrate its foundation day, Maharashtra Divas; while the Maoists were in the final stages of observing a week-long protest to mark the first anniversary of 40 of their comrades who were gunned down by security forces on April 22 last year.
The Naxals also put banners and posters condemning the killings of their comrades last year, before setting ablaze the vehicles.
The incident has been strongly condemned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Strongly condemn the despicable attack on our security personnel in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. I salute all the brave personnel. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten. My thoughts & solidarity are with the bereaved families. The perpetrators of such violence will not be spared.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 1, 2019
The Gadchiroli-Chimur region had voted in the second phase of Lok Sabha election on April 28 and had recorded highest voting, at 71.58%.
C-60 commando force was conceptualised and raised to battle the Naxal menace in 1992 by the then SP of Gadchiroli Police KP Raghuvansi. The men of this wing were imparted training in various types of guerrilla warfare fro reputed training institute in the country.
