Naxalites shot dead a former police constable and set six vehicles on fire in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district late on Monday, PTI reported, quoting a police official. Among the vehicles they burnt were three buses and as many trucks. The victim was travelling in one of the buses.
The insurgents set the buses on fire near Peddakudthi and Penta villages between 10 pm and 11 pm, after asking passengers to get down, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P said. The incident took place on the NH 30, The Hindu reported.
One of the buses was going to Hyderabad from Jagdalpur, another from Dantewada to Hyderabad, and the third from Malkangiri to Hyderabad. A police team arranged for the passengers to board other buses after receiving information about the attack.
The police said the attack was in retaliation to an encounter between Naxalites and security forces in Bijapur on March 2. Ten suspected Maoists were killed in the encounter.
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