In another attack that has exposed the CRPF’s defences yet again, Maoist combatants caught a patrol party off-guard in the jungles of Bastar in Chhattisgarh, mowing down at least 26 men and sending the remaining scurrying for cover. A ‘road-opening’ party of the size of a company was ambushed by Maoists 3 km from Dhaudai in Narayanpur district late afternoon. The troopers were returning after clearing a road and were barely 3 km from their camp. CRPF officers said that the patrol of 63 men checking for mines and explosive devices along the road came under fire from a hilltop. According to information reaching the headquarters, 26 men were killed on the spot and eight were injured, five of them critically. The number of dead and injured may go up, said Vijay Raman, special DG CRPF. The latest blow to CRPF, who’re fast becoming cannon fodder as the Centre and Maoist-infested states dither on launching a full-scale offensive, is bound to revive the debate on taking the army’s help in fighting Naxals. In a series of meetings that followed the May 28 attack on Jnaneswari Express, the need to use India’s military prowess was discussed but both the ruling UPA and even the Congress party were divided. Finally, defence minister A K Antony ruled out the use of soldiers to combat Naxals, only limiting the military’s role to training police and para-military forces.
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