New Delhi (India), April 26, 2023: Ten police officers and their driver were killed on Thursday in a tragic incident in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh. According to officials, an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated while the officers were returning from an anti-Maoist operation that was launched based on intelligence inputs.
The officers belonged to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a special force of the Chhattisgarh police that consists mostly of local tribals who have been trained to combat Maoists. The DRG has been instrumental in several successful operations against the rebels in Bastar, a hotbed of left-wing extremism.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has spoken with Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel following the attack. Baghel took to Twitter to express his condolences and share his grief over the loss of the officers.
The Maoists, also known as Naxals, have been waging an armed insurgency against the government for over six decades, claiming to fight on behalf of the poorest, who have been left out of the country’s economic growth.
They have asserted control over vast swathes of land in central and eastern India, establishing a so-called “red corridor.” Their operations against the Indian administration and forces are shrouded in secrecy and have resulted in hundreds of casualties over the years.
