Gadchiroli Maoist attack kills 16: Here is a list of major Naxal violence this year

According to South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) data, at least 107 persons have been killed in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-linked violence across the country in 2019 (updated with recent Gadchiroli attack).

At least 15 security personnel were killed in an IED explosion in Gadchiroli. (Express photo)

These included 26 civilians, 14 security personnel and 52 Naxalites. During the corresponding period of 2018, such fatalities stood at 96 (28 civilians, 27 SF personnel and 41 Naxalites).

Over the past two years, the number of fatalities among security personnel has come down while civilian casualties have only seen a marginal decline. In 2018, there were a total of 833 LWE-linked incidents as against 908 incidents recorded in 2017, according to Home Ministry data.

Here is a list of major Naxal incidents in 2019:

May 1 (Gadchiroli): At least 16 persons, including 15 security personnel, were killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Wednesday, police said. DIG (Gadchiroli range) Ankush Shinde told The Indian Express, “The Quick Response Team (QRT) was from Kurkheda police station. They were going to Purada village in a private vehicle.”

April 18 (Odisha): A day ahead of the second phase of Lok Sabha polls in Odisha, a woman sector officer was gunned down in Kandhamal Lok Sabha constituency in a Maoist attack. According to an eyewitness, the officer was killed as a landmine and gun attack targeted two vehicles that were headed to polling booths.

April 15 (Jharkhand): One Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and three Maoists were killed in an encounter in Giridih district of Jharkhand. The encounter broke out in the forests of Belbha Ghat area as security personnel from the 7th battalion of the CRPF were carrying out combing operations.

The mangled remains of the car targeted by Maoists in Dantewada. (Express)

April 10 (Bastar): Maoists attacked the convoy of BJP’s Dantewada MLA Bhima Mandavi near Nakulnar, around 25 km from Dantewada, and triggered a powerful IED that destroyed the bullet-proof car Mandavi was travelling in, killing him along with his driver and three security personnel. The blast created a crater spanning the entire width of the single road, at least five feet deep. Mandavi’s car was mangled beyond recognition, crunched to half its size and bodies were thrown as far as 200 metres away from the car.

April 4 (Kanker district): Four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and two others injured in an encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district. The domination patrol of 114 Battalion deployed in Pakhanjur in Chhattisgarh was targeted by the Naxals.

February 3 (Gadchiroli): Maoists shot dead two persons in Gadchiroli, suspecting them of being “police informers”. The Maoists had left a pamphlet saying the two were passing on information to the police.

January 23 (Gadchiroli): Maoists had gunned down three villagers from Kasnasur in Bhamragad tehsil on January 21, holding them responsible for the police ambush of 40 Maoists in April last year.