Maoist rebels kill 50 police in India

INDIA: Fifty policemen were killed in a Maoist rebel attack on a jungle security post in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, an official said Thursday.

“Fifty police have been killed, including special police officers and state police personnel,” said K.R. Pisda, administrator of the area where the overnight attack took place.

The attack occurred late Wednesday in Bijapur district, 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the state capital Raipur, Chhattisgarh state home minister Ram Vichar Netam told AFP.

“Some two dozen people are feared dead in the attack” according to initial reports, Netam said. The Aaj Tak and CNN-IBN news channels reported that between 20 and 24 policemen were killed in the assault.

Access to the area was difficult as it was heavily mined by the Maoists, Netam said.

Maoist rebels, who say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribes and landless farmers, have gained control of 10 of the state’s 16 impoverished districts, according to police.

As a result, about 50,000 villagers have been displaced in the state and are now living in tent shelters as Indian counter-insurgency forces operate in the countryside.

Raipur, Thursday, AFP