Chhattisgarh: 11 dead in Dantewada attack - Timeline of major Naxal attacks in last 5 years
A look at cowardly Naxal attacks in the past five years in the country.
Naxal attack: At least 10 police personnel and a driver were killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday, officials said. The incident took place under Aranpur police station limits when a team of the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) was returning after an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior official said. The area is located around 450 km from state capital Raipur. Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said. The Centre has assured all the possible help to CM Bhupesh Baghel's government in the state. Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also spoke to the chief minister. Making a statement on the matter, CM Bhupesh Baghel said that it's very saddening. My condolences to the bereaved families. This fight is in its last stage. Naxals won't be spared.
Naxalites have also been a problem for governments for decades as some regions in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Bihar have remained affected due to their cowardly acts. While the government has said that they will take strong action against the Naxalites, here's a look at some data on similar attacks which have taken place in the country in the past 5 years.
2023
- 5 February: Three armed Maoists hacked Chhattisgarh BJP leader Neelkanth Kakkem to death. He had reportedly been receiving death threats.
- 11 February: In a second attack within a week in the state of Chhattisgarh, Deputy Chief of BJP of Naraynpura district was shot dead outside his home by two assailants suspected to be Maoists.
- 3 April: Five members of the CPI (Maoist) were killed in Chatra, Jharkhand. The Bihar-Jharkhand regional committee of CPI (Maoist) calls for a bandh in hand-written posters in the two states on April 14 and 15 to protest the murders of their members.
2022
- 4 January: CPI (Maoist) attacked Gurucharan Nayak, the former BJP MLA of Manoharpur, in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Nayak escaped but Maoists slit the throat of his two bodyguards, snachted their AK:47 rifles and fled. Two bodyguards died in the incident.
- 2 September: Two cadres of CPI (Maoist) killed in an encounter by security forces in Saraikela Kharsawan district of Jharkhand.
- 26 November: 4 naxals, including two women cadres, were killed by security personnel in Bastar division of Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh. Weapons and explosives were also seized, such as .303 and .315 rifles, and a musket.
2021
- 3 April: 22 soldiers including 14 Chhattisgarh policemen and 7 jawans of the CRPF, including 6 members of its elite CoBRA unit, were killed in a Maoist ambush on the border of Bijapur and Sukma districts in southern Chhattisgarh. One CRPF jawan was held captive by the Maoists.
- 23 March: 5 security personnel were killed when a bus carrying over 20 security personnel was attacked by Naxals using an IED in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh. At least 13 security personnel were injured in the attack.
- 3 April: During a raid on a Maoist hideout in the forests of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh state, 30 security personnel were killed, and at least 31 others were wounded, in an hours-long gun battle with Naxal rebels, who fought against the security forces with automatic weapons and grenades. The body of one rebel was found, and at least 20 security personnel were reported missing.
- 13 November: 26 naxals were killed in an encounter with the Maharashtra police at the Mardintola forest near Korchi in Gadchiroli district, Chhattisgarh border. Milind Teltumbde, a member of the CPI (Maoist) central committee, was among those dead.
2020
- 8 February: 2 Cobra Commandos were killed in an attack by Naxals in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.
- 21 March: 17 security personnel of Chhattisgarh Police were killed in a Maoist ambush in Sukma district's Elmaguda forest, including 12 from the District Reserve Guards and 5 others from Special Task Force during a security operation launched against Maoists alongside the CRPF. 15 personnel were wounded and 16 weapons stolen.
- 21 July: In an act that was seen as a departure from the norm, Dantewada villagers filed police complaints against 7 known Naxals for a brutal assault on villagers.
- 20 August: Another FIR was lodged over an incident that had occurred in Chikpal a day earlier. It is said 10 villagers, including a 12-year-old girl, were assaulted by Maoists. Their medical reports said they had bruises on their backs and above thighs.
- 28 November: 1 Cobra Commando was killed and 9 were injured in an IED attack by Naxals in Sukma.
2019
- 8 March: 1 Naxal leader was killed in an encounter with the Kerala police at a Wayanad resort.[156]
- 1 May: 16 policemen, including a driver, were killed in an IED blast carried out by Naxalite's in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
- 14 June: Maoist killed 5 police personnel in weekly market in Saraikela Kharsawan district, Jharkhand.[158]
- 28 October: Kerala Police's elite commando team "Thunderbolt" gunned down 3 maoists in an encounter in the Attappadi hills region of Palakkad. One remaining member of the maoists group was killed a day later when the police team went to inspect the encounter site, following an attack on the team.
- 23 November: Naxals opened fire on a patrol van killing an ASI and three home guard Jawans in Latehar, Jharkhand.
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