Deadliest Attack By Naxals In Maharashtra Since 1992

In the most gruesome Naxal atrocity in the history of Maharashtra, Naxals not only gunned down 15 policemen, including a subinspector, but also beheaded and dismembered their bodies. The incident took place in the jungles of Markegaon village in Dhanora tehsil of Gadchiroli district on Sunday. A short-range patrol of 14 policemen from Gyrapatti police armed outpost is learnt to have fought valiantly against more than 100 Naxals for one and-a-half hours before their ammunition dried up. The brutal outlaws then chased the surviving cops, taking their own time in killing them one by one with medieval cruelty. An eyewitness told police said that the Naxals kicked around the decapitated heads and other body parts of their victims. The Naxals also booby-trapped the bodies of the dead policemen with explosives after the encounter. The highly mutilated bodies could be retrieved only after defusing the explosives. This is the worst-ever attack on police by Naxalites in Maharashtra. Way back in 1992, nine policemen were killed in an encounter between the rebels and cops in Gondia district. Sources said that newlyformed Border Platoon Dalam was involved in Sunday’s ambush. The Markegaon area is located close to the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. Pankaj Gupta, additional DGP and chief of the anti-naxal operation cell, claimed that some of the Naxals have been injured too. “The patrol was heading towards Markegaon, some 45 km from Dhanora, to investigate the burning of a tractor and road roller by the rebels on January 30 when it was attacked,’’ sources said. The encounter took place at around 11.15 am and a rescue party sent into the area was also ambushed at Kosmi, thus denying any immediate reinforcement, sources said. A helicopter was summoned for rescue operations from Chhattisgarh police but it could not land at Sawargaon. The sources also said that the Naxals fled with 6 AK 47s, two INSAS rifles, a two-inch mortar, 6 SLRs and one pistol. RED RAGE
Jan 17, 2009 : 6 security personnel killed in landmine blast in Latehar, Jharkhand
Oct 20, 2008 : 12 CRPF troopers killed in landmine blasts and Maoist fire in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur dist
July 16 : 17 Special Operations Group cops killed in landmine blast in Orissa’s Malkangiri
June 29 : 38 Greyhounds killed near Balimela reservoir on AP-Orissa border
March 16 : 50 cops killed in Maoist ambush in Rani Bodli village in Chhattisgarh
May 16, 2006 : 12 cops killed in blast in Gadchiroli
2003 : Naxals gun down 6 cops in Gadchiroli
1992 : Naxals kill 9 policemen in Gondia