Maoists attack 5 CRPF camps in Dantewada

Maoists on Tuesday night carried out near-simultaneous attacks on five CRPF camps in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, triggering gunbattles. There was no immediate report of casualties.

About 300 to 400 Naxalites fired from a distance on the camps of the paramilitary personnel at Chintangufa, where 76 CRPF men were killed in a Maoist strike on April 6, Kanker Lanka, Potampalli, Bheji and Erawa in quick succession beginning around 7.30 p.m. The CRPF men retaliated, sparking intermittent gunbattles.

Dantewada SP Amaresh Mishra said the firing could have been to facilitate the militants' escape to Orissa.