Naxal attack: A tribute to the martyrs

In the worst Maoist attack, at least 75 CRPF and district force personnel were on Tuesday killed when a large group of Naxals ambushed them in the thick Mukrana forests of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

A police ceremony was held in Jagdalpur to pay homage to the jawans. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram who flew to Chhattisgarh on Wednesday morning for a spot assessment, was at the ceremony to pay his respects. He was accompanied by Chief Minister Raman Singh.

Jagdalpur is the district headquarter of Bastar, 90 km from Dantewada, where the massacre took place.

The scene at Jagdalpur was sombre, as coffins were marked out with names of jawans and the places they belong to. Seventy five coffins were lined up for the police ceremony on Wednesday and flags were draped on the slain jawans' coffins.

The deadliest attack yet by a Naxal group took place on early Tuesday morning in the jungles bordering Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. At least 1000 Maoists hiding in the forest ambushed a group of 82, killing 76 of them.

Home Minister P Chidambaram, who flew in here from New Delhi via Raipur, placed a wreath in front of the bodies of the slain jawans, 75 of whom belonged to the CRPF.

One head constable of the state police deputed with the paramilitary unit was also killed in the attack on Tuesday.

Central and state government leaders paid their last respects to the 76 CRPF personnel killed in the deadliest Naxal attack.

State Governor Shekhar Dutta, Chief Minister Raman Singh and senior state police and paramilitary officers also paid their homage to the personnel.

Chidambaram met some of the family members of the dead jawans.

The Home Minister is expected to review the Maoist menace at a high-level meeting with the state authorities.

The personnel, who appeared to have walked into the Naxal's "trap", were killed when they were literally caught sleeping in the Mukrana forests of Dantewada district, one of the strongholds of the Naxals.

The attack shook the Centre and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a meeting with Chidambaram and assessed the situation. Both of them expressed shock over the attack and grief over the loss of lives.

The bodies of those killed in the ambush will be sent to their homes. Most of the jawans who died are from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar.

The nation paid tributes to the men who lost their lives in the deadly Naxal attacks on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

A majority of the martyrs belonged to Uttar Pradesh. Deputy Commandant of 62nd battalion of CRPF has said that 44 victims were from UP.

Twenty five of the victims are being brought to Lucknow while 19 will be flown to Delhi.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati termed the killing of CRPF jawans as "unfortunate and a cowardly act".

"The brutal attack carried out by the Naxalites cannot be termed as justified at any cost," Mayawati said in a condolence message. The chief minister said that the state government was with the families of martyrs.

A day after the attack, details are now emerging of how the Naxals managed to carry out their deadliest attack ever in Dantewada in Chhattisgarh.

Sources say the local police were in the dark about the details of a CRPF operation that a newly-appointed Deputy Inspector GeneraI of Police, who is a top anti-Naxal specialist and a top greyhound commander, decided to launch to get a feel of the area.