26 CRPF men die in Maoist ambush

In the third such major attack in three months which took the paramilitary force by surprise, suspected Maoists killed 26 jawans of a CRPF road opening team and injured 15 others in an ambush at Dhorai in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Tuesday, the police said.

Rescue teams reached the spot late in the evening and the toll may go up, police said. A 66-member CRPF team was returning to camp when at least 90 Maoist insurgents attacked them at Jhargahati, a thickly forested area, 32 km from the district headquarters town of Narayanpur. The ambush was laid on the basis of prior information, police sources said. The Bastar IGP, Mr T.J. Longkumar, said: “The spot is surrounded by difficult terrain and forests. Reinforcements have been rushed from nearby areas. An IAF helicopter was used to transport the injured jawans.