Sukma attack: Palaniswami announces Rs 20 lakh compensation for 4 CRPF men from TN killed in Chhattisgarh

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday condoled the death of four CRPF personnel from the state who were killed in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh and announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh each to their families. [caption id=“attachment_3403228” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Edappadi K Palaniswami. PTI[/caption] Palaniswami said he was deeply grieved at the death of four CRPF personnel from Tamil Nadu and expressed his deep condolences to their family members, a statement said. The four CRPF personnel from Tamil Nadu who lost their lives on Monday were M Padmanabhan, N Senthilkumar, N Thirumurugan and P Azhagupandi. At least 25 CRPF personnel killed on Monday when Maoist ambushed the 74 battalion of CRPF, which was providing security to road construction work near Chintagufa in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. The Maoists mounted the assault around 12.25 pm in Kalapathar area of south Bastar region, one of the worst-hit by Left-wing extremism in the country. The area is close to the Chintagufa-Burkapal-Bheji axis, the hotbed of violence which has seen a number of such attacks in the past resulting in high casualties. An injured jawan, brought to a hospital, said the CRPF patrol was attacked by around 300 Maoist guerrillas. This was the second such incident in Sukma within a span of one month. The last Maoist attack took place on 11 March, where 12 CRPF jawans were killed. The incident comes at a time when the country’s largest paramilitary force is without a full-time chief after K Durga Prasad retired on 28 February. 75 CRPF personnel and a Chhattisgarh police official were killed in the deadliest Maoist attack in adjoining Dantewada district on 6 April 2010.