In a major post-poll attack, 15 people, including six personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and nine civilians, were killed on April 12 when Maoists blew up an ambulance and a bus in two separate incidents in tribal Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.

Maoist guerrillas first triggered a powerful blast, targeting a bus when a polling party was returning, at village Kutulnar between Kutru and Gudma in Naxalite-affected Bijapur district. Seven members of the polling party were killed in the blast and subsequent firing, while five others were injured.

Within an hour, rebels struck again and blew up an ambulance, killing six CRPF personnel, a medical attendant and a driver on the spot in Darba on Jagdalpur-Sukma National Highway 30. The incident took place at Kamanar region in Darbha area.

Additional Director General of Police (Naxalite Operations) RK Vij said, “Six polling personnel died on the spot after the landmine blast while another person died on way to the hospital. Other injured were admitted to hospital at Bijapur and those critically injured were airlifted to Raipur.”

The CRPF personnel, who belonged to 80th Battalion, have been identified as Inspector M.K. Rai, Assistant Sub-Inspector Kanti Bai, Head Constable Sitaram and Umesh, Constable Dinesh and a civilian Vasu Sethiya.

Changing their guerrilla attack tactics this time, Maoist rebels have targeted poll party while they were returning after polls. Earlier, they would attack polling parties and security forces before polls or on polling day in an effort to disrupt elections. However, Maoists could not succeed in their designs during both the November polls and during April 10 polling for Lok Sabha constituency in Bastar because of successful area domination by security forces.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh strongly condemned the killings describing it as an act of cowardice. A group of BJP and its youth wing members took out demonstrations and burnt effigies of Naxalism at different places protesting against killing of innocent people.