Three Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and six jawans were seriously injured in a Maoist ambush in Malkangiri district of Odisha on early Wednesday morning.
According to police sources, the incident took place in the cut off area of Balimela reservoir near Sarkubandh in the vicinity of Chitrakonda. The BSF personnel, who were involved in combing and area domination in this Maoist infested region fell prey to a landmine blast and ambush by Maoists.
The injured BSF personnel were rushed to Malkangiri district hospital for treatment. Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP) Mitrabhanu Mohapatra and senior officials of the BSF had reached the hospital to take stock of the situation. Mr. Mohapatra said, if needed, the injured security personnel would be air lifted to Visakhapatnam for treatment. Three helicopters have reached Malkangiri district to air lift the injured and to get the bodies of victims of ambush to Malkangiri district headquarter for autopsy and guard of honour before they are sent to their families.
The BSF troupe that encountered this Maoist ambush is said to having 30 personnel. They were involved in area dominance in the cut off area to increase security for the construction work of Gurupriya bridge. Cut off area of Balimela reservoir in Malkangiri district is a stronghold of Maoists. The bridge will provide direct road connectivity to over 150 villages in this cut off area. Maoists had stalled construction work of this bridge since years. With increased area dominance of security forces, construction work of this bridge has started again. This ambush is suspected to be an attempt to disrupt construction of Gurupriya Bridge.
Meanwhile, extra security personnel have been rushed to the area where the ambush occurred to intensify combing and area dominance. Search is on to track down the ultras behind the ambush.
