Red army kills 11 jawans in Orissa

NEW DELHI: Maoists blew up a van carrying Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel killing 11 of them in Orissa on Sunday. The jawans were attacked even as home minister P Chidambaram was in Lalgarh in neighbouring West Bengal to take stock of anti-Naxal operations.

The attack was aimed at sending a clear signal to the central government that the Maoists would not be cowed down by the intensification of the campaign against them by the Centre and the states. The Centre has warned the Naxal outfits to lay down arms or face action. The jawans were attacked at Govindapalli in Malkangiri district when they were on their way to clear a road blocked due to felling of trees by the ultras, agency reports from Bhubaneswar said. The reports quoted sources as saying that a brief exchange of fire also took place between the security personnel and the rebels near the blast site.

Sunday’s attack was one of the worst Maoist attacks in recent times in Orissa where Koraput district is considered to be their stronghold. Rebels are active in over half of the state’s 30 districts. According to official figures, between 2001 and 2009 Maoists killed at least 145 policemen and 93 civilians in Orissa while 61 rebels were slain in the unending violence.