Naxal attack in Gadchiroli latest update: NCP chief Sharad Pawar demanded the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis and alleged that the chief minister ‘has no shame’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have condemned the Naxal attack. Fifteen C-60 commandos and a driver were killed after the vehicle in which they were travelling was blown up by Naxals in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Wednesday, according to several media reports.
IED blast by Naxals on a police vehicle in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
— Amit kaushik (@Amit_kaushik1) May 1, 2019
security personnel are injured in an IED blast by naxals in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. More details awaited. pic.twitter.com/MeAmA0wGxN
The incident occurred on the Kurkheda-Korchi road.
2.) #RedTerror Remains of the police vehicle after Maoists triggered an IED planted on the road, some commandoes reportedly died , some left severely injured @vyenkateshdud @sahiljoshii @IndiaToday @aajtak pic.twitter.com/SIOLDoboN8
— Divyesh Singh (@divyeshas) May 1, 2019
An exchange of fire is currently underway between police and Naxals at the site of the blast.
#UPDATE Exchange of fire underway between Police and Naxals at the site of blast in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. https://t.co/KB3rT3Gdna
— ANI (@ANI) May 1, 2019
The attack came soon after 27 machines and vehicles were set ablaze by Naxals at a road construction site in Gadchiroli district. Reports said road construction and repair work was taking place for which JCB machine and cement laden trucks were parked on the roadside. The Naxals targetted the vehicles and construction machines, torching them besides also attacking a coal tar plant in the Dadapur area. The authorities are said to have incurred losses amounting to about Rs 1 crore. “A group of Maoists gathered around 3.30 am at Dadapur where the construction of a national highway has been going on since the last few months,” Shailesh Balkawade, Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli said. The incident came weeks after an IED blast near a polling booth in Gadchiroli on 11 April, during the first phase of the national election. No one was injured in the incident. On 11 April, an encounter broke out between CRPF personnel and Naxals in Gadchiroli. In January 2019, Naxals set ablaze vehicles in the villages of Kurkheda, Korchi and Potegaon in Maharashtra. Further details are awaited.