On a day when two security personnel and a cameraperson of Doordarshan were martyred in a Naxal attack in Dantewada, a top official in-charge of anti-Naxal operations said on that the reason for the strike was the construction of a road in the area.
DM Awasthi, Special DG of Anti-Naxal Operations, told media persons at a press briefing that there were warnings issued by the Naxals against a road construction project in Dantewada's Aranpur. "Naxals had warned against causing harm if the road construction work continued. After today's incident, eight to ten IEDs have been recovered from the area and have been defused," he said.
Awasthi further said that counter-Naxal operations will continue despite the ghastly attack. "More anti-Naxal operations will be conducted in the coming days," he said while adding that the incident had no link with the upcoming elections in the state. "The attack will not hamper polls. We have a total of 650 companies of security forces for the first phase of polling."
The incident has, nonetheless, put the spotlight back on the menace of Naxalism - especially in the state of Chhattisgarh which votes in two phases next month. The Maoist-affected districts of southern Chhattisgarh will vote in the first phase of polling.
State CM Raman Singh issued a strong condemnation of Tuesday's attack and said that these are tactics used by Naxals before every election season but that a befitting reply would be given. Strong reactions came from several other political leaders cutting across party lines even as there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy for the victims.
