Red Terror strikes again

Red terror struck again on Tuesday afternoon, this time in Damini forest of Jharkhand’s Dumka district, killing five policemen, including an IPS officer, and maiming two others critically. The style of attack on the police convoy grimly resembled the May 25 attack in Chhattisgarh’s Darbha Ghat in which 28 people, including Congress leaders Mahendra Karma and VC Shukla, were ambushed and killed.
On Tuesday, around 60 armed Maoists hiding in the bushes along an unpaved road in Naxal-hit Kathikund block, around 415 km northeast of capital Ranchi, ambushed the police convoy led by Pakur superintendent of police (SP) Amarjeet Balihar by triggering a landmine blast. Heavy gunfire followed. Director general of police Rajiv Kumar later confirmed the death of the SP and four others.
The others killed are Balihar’s driver Ashok Srivastav, and bodyguards Chandan Kumar Thapa, Manoj Kumar Hembrom, and Rajeev Kumar Sharma.
Another encounter with Maoist guerrillas in Odisha’s Sonepur district left a special operations group sergeant injured. His police team had raided a Maoist camp in a forest. They recovered five rifles from the Maoists, and said some of the militants may have been injured as well.
The Jharkhand attack followed a series of offensives carried out by security forces against the rebels, specifically after the Chhattisgarh May 25 attack. The operations in Jharkhand’s Latehar, Gumla, West Singbhum and Palamu districts had apparently led to major successes. The police claimed they had killed at least 35 rebels in the last six months and destroyed training camps and hideouts. Around 26 security personnel also lost their lives in the clashes.
Sources said the Pakur SP had gone to Dumka, the divisional headquarter and Jharkhand’s second capital, to attend a meeting called by local deputy inspector general of police Priya Dubey on security. The meeting ended after lunch and the officers headed to their respective places of posting.
Heavy rain, broken roads, and poor telecommunication delayed the rescue and a counterattack for more than an hour. By the time reinforcement could reach the trapped convoy, the SP and his body guards had died.
The injured were taken to the Dumka Sadar Hospital 40 km away where doctors arrived only after angry constables made a ruckus.
Kathikund has been in news for increased Naxal activity. In April, the rebels had torched eight vehicles of a road construction company working in the remote area deprived of development for decades.