New Delhi (Sputnik): One paramilitary serviceman was killed and five others injured in an ambush by Maoist rebels in the Dantewada district of the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Monday. Going by initial reports, a team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), along with a state police unit, was out on road security duty when an IED exploded and they were fired upon by Maoists.
"Regret to inform that one head constable of battalion 231 attained martyrdom", a government official said.
It is believed that one other paramilitary official sustained serious injuries in the blast.
Last year, at least 11 paramilitary personnel were killed in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh alone, while in overall 61 security personnel were killed across the country by Maoist rebels in 2018. As per the home ministry, a total of 159 civilians were killed in 2018 in the Maoist violence.
The Naxals, who follow communist ideologue Mao Zedong's philosophy, is India's largest rebel group. Their movement was originally aimed at redistributing land to the landless by overthrowing the elite class and the popularly elected government through an armed struggle.