A detailed account of DANTEWADA MASSACRE 2010

Amid the chaos caused by coronavirus, we forgot that today marks the 10th anniversary of the Dantewada massacre. In which 75 CRPF jawans along with 1 district police constable of Chhatisgarh Police were killed by the Maoists.

It is said that, the Dantewada massacre is by far the deadliest Maoist attack since the insurgent movement started. Before starting I would like to pay my respects to the fallen soldiers of the CRPF and Chhattisgarh Police.

So here is a detailed account of what really happened on that unfortunate day.

• 15 days prior to the attack, Naxal had started to observe the movements and time habits of Road Opening Party (ROP) of the CRPF's 62 battalion.

• 29 March 2010 – Naxals start their rehearsal at the very same spot. They scout the area and prepare booby traps and dig trenches to trap the security personnel. Their preparation and rehearsal carry on till 31 March 2010.

• 1 April 2010 – Nalin Prabhat, IPS then DIG operations suggested that the CRPF must launch an area domination exercise where the troops would be out for 72 hours to sanitize a radius of 5 km

3 April 2010 – Naxal finally move in and take over the ambush site and further prepare for the attack.

• 4 April 2010 – The local police along with Alpha Company of CRPF's 62 battalion launches combing and area domination exercise as a part of 'Operation Green Hunt' which was a central government led offensive against the left extremists.

6 April 2010
(5:25 am) - The forces finally took a break after carrying out routine ops for 34 hrs. Little did the forces know that d were being followed by Naxals. Just as the forces put down their wpns to rest, the Naxals placed themselves strategically on a nearby hilltop

(5:45 am) – The left wing extremists opened fire on the police personnel. The elevated position gave the Naxals unparalleled advantage, not to forget the forest. As the crossfire ensued, chaos erupted as policemen desperately ran to take cover.

(6:08 am) - In a desperate attempt the party under attack called out for reinforcements at DIG Prabhat's office after realising that they had been outflanked by the Naxals. A reinforcement party was sent out which consisted the CO of the Battalion, medical officers and 30 jawans.

(7:20 am) - Soon the reinforcements too met with trouble as they fell in the trap of the naxal who had meticulously planned the attack. The reinforcement party took the route which had IED and pressure mines planted all along.

The reinforcement party called out for help and a Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) was sent to their rescue. The MPV was rushing to the spot only to come to an abrupt stop as the road had been blocked by the left extremists.

The Special Police Officers got down to clear the road but couldn’t due to the weight of the tree coupled with sniper fires from Naxals hiding nearby. The company commander took another route and unfortunately the MPV was blown up by the Naxals at Chintalnar Tarmetla village.

The encounter at the main site ran for hours which is a tribute to the martyrs who fought till the last bullet and the last drop against an adversary who had not only encircled but also vastly outnumbered them.

(9:30 am) – The reinforcement parties finally manage to reach the massacre spot on foot, only to hear Maoist victory cries “Lal Salam” and bodies of CRPF personnel strewn over. 76 security personnel had laid down their lives fighting. 7 personnel survived the ghastly attack.

It is said that 2 armed companies of 220 People's Liberation Guerilla Army were involved in the attack who were commanded by Naxal commanders Katakam Sudarshan and Tipparti Tirupati.

And today, we remember those 76 souls who fought valiantly against the enemy.
And lastly I'd like to say - Learn to identify your enemy. It's not necessary that your enemy is sitting on the other side of the border
#Dantewada #CRPF