CRPF chose to take Naxals head on despite casualties

Bhopal: Rebels had laid a trap for the survivors of April 24 ambush on a CRPF party at Burkapal in Chhattisgarh’s south Bastar district of Sukma by asking them to surrender, but the troopers had refused to fall into a trap, wireless communications between them during the encounter have indicated.

“The guerrillas had thrown bait to the surviving jawans saying that they would be set free if they surrendered. But, the troopers, instead of falling into their trap, had thrown gauntlet by daring them to fight face-to-face,” a senior CRPF officer posted in Bastar disclosed to this newspaper on Friday.

The Maoists looted five wireless sets and weapons after killing 25 troopers in the ambush.

“Humne charon taraf gher liya hai. Agar jeena chahate ho to surrender kar lo (We have surrounded you from all sides. If you want to live, then surrender),” the Maoists blared in the looted wireless sets.

“Hum tumko samjha denge kaun kissiko ghera hai. Himmat hai to samne aa jao (We will make you realise who have an upper hand. If you have guts, then come to forefront for a face-to-face fight),” the surviving jawans at the ambush site shot back on their wireless sets.

The rebels had then deliberately started making loud noises in the wireless sets, apparently to deny the back-up party to have access to their colleagues trapped at the encounter site, the CRPF officer said.

Later, the jawans had switched off their wireless sets to prevent the Naxals from accessing communications between the former and the rescue party.

The jawans had earlier given cover to the workers engaged in construction of a bridge and a road at the encounter site when movements of Maoists were noticed in the area.

The troopers then packed them up in a mini-truck used for carrying construction materials and evacuated them to safety when the rebels started opening firing on them, workers rescued from the encounter site have confirmed.