Maoists attack forest officials inside Kanha National Park in MP’s Mandla
This is the first time Maoists attacked forest officials in the tribal district of Mandla.
A group of Maoists attacked forest guards inside Kanha National Park in Mandla district on February 12, beat them up, snatched their wireless set and mobiles, and set fire to their maps and topography sheets.
Additional director general of Balaghat zone, J Janardhan, confirmed the attack. This is the first time Maoists attacked forest officials in the tribal district of Mandla, situated some 400km east of Bhopal.
Police said the Maoists were from outfit’s Vistaar Dalam, which has its presence in Balaghat, the only Madhya Pradesh district affected by left-wing extremism, according to the Centre’s reckoning. Both Balaghat and neigbouring Mandla district border Chhattisgarh.
Police said more than 20 Maoists attacked the forest officials at two outposts in the park.
On a complaint from the forest department, police registered two cases on Sunday.
The Vistaar Dalam is believed to have between 70 and 100 Maoists.
No incidents of Maoist violence were reported from Balaghat in 2017, but 16 were reported in 2016. In January this year, Maoists killed a person after branding him a police informer.
Janardan said forces were on high alert. “I inspected the area today. The Vistaar Dalam members are rattled that we have killed five of their members in three separate encounters in the past few months and they are trying to assert themselves again.”