Gadchiroli:
The silent victims of government-Maoist fallout, three innocent children lost their lives when a grenade landed at their school compound in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on Friday.
Now, days after, fellow students and their friends are in mourning.
Tears roll down young Rajesh's eyes when he thinks about his friend Naangsaay Hidko who died in the Maoist-security forces crossfire.
"We studied and played together. I was inside at that time. When I came out I saw him lying on the ground," said Rajesh explain the events of that horrific day.
All the students of the residential school on the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border were tribals. Eight other children are still struggling to recover at a local hospital. The teachers say it will be difficult for them to get over what they saw.
"We did not know what was going on. Some people were lying on the ground. The children were scared and they were running away. After an hour the jawans came and took the injured to hospital," said Vasant Atram a teacher from Adivasi Ashramshaala, the school that fell prey to Maoist violence.
In the last few years, Gadchiroli has seen enough violence, but this is the first time that a school has come under attack. Though whatever maybe the result of ongoing anti Maoist operations in the country, seeing innocent children made victims is a dark spot.