Nawada:
In the biggest strike so far this year in Bihar, Maoists gunned down 10 policemen, injured three others and looted several weapons at a village in Nawada district on Monday.
Over 200 CPI or Maoist ultras armed with sophisticated weapons attacked a police team comprising district armed police, Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) and Bihar Military Police (BMP) personnel sent to Mahuliatand village to provide security at a function organised on the occasion of Ravidas Jayanti, official sources said.
Four jawans each from SAP and BMP, sub-inspector of Kauakaul police station Rameshwar Ram and assistant sub-inspector I D Singh were killed on the spot in the attack.
The Maoists took away 11 rifles, including SLRs, besides several rounds of ammunitions during the pre-planned operation at the village which borders Jharkhand, the sources said. Though the police fired in retaliation it was not known whether there was any casualty among the Maoists.
Compensation announcedThe Bihar government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 20 lakh to each of the ten policemen killed in the naxal attack.
Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Neelmani told reporters that the next of the kin of the policemen killed in the attack would be be paid Rs 20 lakh including Rs 10 lakh as insurance money.