Dantewada, Chhattisgarh: A cameraman of Doordarshan and two security personnel were killed in an ambush by the Maoists in Dantewada district in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Monday.
A three-member team of DD News from Delhi was in Bastar to cover the development works in Nilavaya area under Aaranpur police station limits, about 30 km from the district headquarters when the Maoist ambush took place, targeting a team of police personnel.
There are conflicting reports that the security force was carrying out a search and combing operation in the area while another report said the team was providing security cover to the DD News team, which was shooting in the troubled Maoist area. The rebels targeted the security personnel and the TV crew was caught in the crossfire.
Deputy inspector general of police P Sounderraj told reporters at Jagdalpur that DD News cameraman Achutanand Sahu, ASI Rudra Pratap and assistant constable Manglu were killed while two other constables were injured in the attack. Both the injured have been shifted to the district hospital.
As the assembly constituencies in Bastar are scheduled to go to polls in the first phase on November 12, the region is under tight security cover. Maoists have also begun targeting the security forces, inflicting casualties.
Media teams from across the country are also flocking to tribal Bastar region for election coverage and many of them venture into the unknown Maoist terrain to film search operations. It is for the first time media personnel is falling victim to Maoist attack during an ambush in tribal Bastar region.
Additional reinforcement has been rushed to the ambush site and details about the actual sequence of events would be known only after the teams return to their base, police said.
