A gunbattle broke out in Chhattisgarh's restive Bastar region on Monday morning after Maoists opened fire at a police station in Dantewada district -- the fourth attack since June 9. No casualty was reported, police said.
As many as 18 policemen have been killed in three separate Maoists attacks since June 9.
The gunbattle began when armed rebels fired several shots at a police station at Bhejji village, some 500 km south of capital Raipur, and the policemen retaliated.
The Bhejji Police Station complex also has a camp of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) battalion that was attacked by Maoists Saturday in which three troopers were killed and three others injured.
"There is no casualty or injury from our side in the fight that began at 9 am and ended at around noon. Additional forces were rushed to Bhejji to strengthen police presence," Dantewada Superintendent of Police Ankit Garg told IANS over the phone.
Maoists had carried out double attacks in the Bastar region June 9. Five policemen were gunned down in Narayanpur district June 9 morning. They struck again, killing 10 policemen around midnight in Dantewada.
Maoist attacks in the state have surged in the past weeks as rebels killed nine policemen in an ambush May 23 on the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border along Raipur district.
{{/usCountry}}Maoist attacks in the state have surged in the past weeks as rebels killed nine policemen in an ambush May 23 on the Chhattisgarh-Orissa border along Raipur district.
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