CRPF unit that lost 7 men in Naxal attack nabs ultras in Chhattisgarh

Undeterred by the deadly Naxal attack that killed seven of their colleagues last week, troops of the 230^th CRPF battalion have nabbed six Maoists from the worst Maoist violence-affected Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

Officials said a special squad from the unit apprehended the Naxals identified as Madvi Muka (22), Madkami Deva (24), Madkami Ganga (24), Chinga (25), Budram (30) and Sanna (28) from the Nelavaram and Chichor villages of Sukma, located on the southern-most tip of the forested Bastar area.

They said all the six were wanted by the state police for various crimes and had warrants pending against them.

“They have been nabbed by the troops of the same Central Reserve Police Force unit whose seven men were ambushed by Maoists last week. All six Maoists have been handed over to state police,” an official said.

Seven personnel of the 230^th battalion were killed in the landmine ambush when they were travelling in a civilian vehicle to transport a cooler for an ailing sniffer dog of the force named ‘scout’ on March 30 in the neighbouring Dantewada district.

The unit was brought in deployed here last November for special anti-Naxal operations along the Sukma-Dantewada axis which is notorious for the movement of armed Naxal cadres as it borders Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

CRPF Director General K Durga Prasad had recently said that the unit was instrumental in effecting a number of Maoist surrenders in the area and that they helped local police in apprehending 18 ‘warantee’ ultras in the last few months.