| Sukma attack | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Communist Party of India (Maoist) |  India | ||||
| Units involved | |||||
| Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) | |||||
| Strength | |||||
| 100 [1] | |||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 9 killed 6 wounded | |||||
On 13 March 2018, at least nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and six others were injured when Maoists blew up a mine-protected vehicle with an IED in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The attack came almost eleven days after Indian security personnel killed 10 alleged Naxalites in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on 2 March. [3] It also came almost a year after at least 25 CRPF personnel were killed in one of the deadliest attacks by Maoist rebels. [2]
On 13 March 2018, an IED blast occurred when a contingent of CRPF's 212th battalion was patrolling in a mine-protected vehicle in the forest of Kistaram area in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh. At least nine Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed and six others were injured in the attack. [1] The blast ripped the vehicle apart and some dead bodies were found 20 to 30 feet away from the blast site. The injured were airlifted for treatment in Raipur. [2]
According to Special Director General CRPF D. M. Awasthi, "There were about 11 men in the vehicle. A patrolling party was going from Kistaram to Palodi in an anti-landmine vehicle which was targeted by Naxals with an IED". [1] He said that, "they were only 1km from the nearest camp in Palodi". [2] According to him, "there is an exchange of fire almost on a daily basis. The security forces have been running an aggressive campaign against Naxalites". [1]
The security forces are trying to figure out if the attack was carried out by a single group of Naxals or multiple. [1]
Seven individuals, identified by authorities as Komram Sade, Madkam Joga, Madkam Hindwa, Mandvi Sukka, Madkam Ganga, Vanjam Aayta and Vanjam Singha, have been arrested and are being investigated on suspicion of involvement with the attack. Athhorities assert that all seven members of the "Jan Militia". All are residents of Kistram in Sukma. [8] [9]
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind in a tweet expressed anguish at the attack and saluted the CRPF personnel who lost their lives. He also offered condolences to the bereaved families and stated that, "we remain firm in our resolve to take on and defeat all forms of terrorism". [1]
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet saluted the CRPF personnel who were killed in the attack and said that, "the nation stands shoulder to shoulder" with the families and friends of those killed "in this hour of grief". [10]
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed distress in a tweet. He also expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in Sukma blast and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. He further stated that, "I spoke to DG CRPF regarding the Sukma incident and asked him to leave for Chhattisgarh". [1]
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh condemned the "cowardly attack". [2]
Congress President Rahul Gandhi tweeted that the attack mirrors a "deteriorating internal security situation due to flawed policies". He called the attack "tragic" and expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished speedy recovery to those injured. [1]
Mahendra Karma was an Indian political leader belonging to Indian National Congress from Chhattisgarh. He was the leader of the opposition in the Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha from 2004 to 2008. In 2005, he played a top role in organising the Salwa Judum movement against Naxalites, a Maoist group in Chhattisgarh. He was a Minister of Industry and Commerce in the Ajit Jogi cabinet since the state formation in 2000 to 2004. He was assassinated by Naxalites on 25 May 2013 in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley while returning from a Parivartan Rally meeting organised by his party in Sukma.
Salwa Judum was a militia that was mobilised and deployed as part of counterinsurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, India, aimed at countering Naxalite activities in the region. The militia, consisting of local tribal youth, received support and training from the Chhattisgarh state government. It was outlawed and banned by a Supreme Court court order but continues to exist in the form of armed auxiliary forces, District Reserve Groups, and other vigilante groups.
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The Ordnance Factory Board Mine Protected Vehicle is a Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected-type vehicle used by the Indian Army and the Central Reserve Police Force as an armored personnel carrier to transport personnel with protection from explosives and small arms fire. The MPV’s construction was based on the Casspir Mk II, which India used in the 1990s.
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