Dantewada: DD cameraman, 2 cops killed in ambush laid by rebels for forces

A cameraman of national broadcaster Doordarshan and two security personnel were killed in an ambush laid by the rebels for forces in Chhattisgarh’s restive Dantewada district on Tuesday. 

The DD news had deployed a team to cover the elections in Bastar that goes to polls on November 12. The team in a police escort on Tuesday left to cover the development works taken up in the interior areas of the district.

The crew members were with security personnel in about two dozen motorcycles. “Near Aranpur, the cameraman saw a pamphlet in which the rebels had called for poll boycott and got down to take the photographs when the team came under fire from Naxalites,” Special Director General of Police Durgesh Madhav Awasthi said.

The cameraman, Achyutanand Sahu, was shot at from close range before the rebels snatched away the camera. They also fired 50 rounds at journalist Dhiraj Kumar and another crew member. “Had a police constable not pushed them to a pit, they would have survived,” Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

The crew member received a bullet injury but was safe. Awasthi said the team was going to cover the road construction between Sowli and Nilvaya. The rebels had pulled all the strings to stop the work but the project was successfully completed that had baffled the rebels, he added.

The road had facilitated Nilvaya village to connect to the mainstream of the society as the area remained a stronghold of extremists. “The Naxalites had actually laid the trap for the security personnel but unfortunately, the DD news crew was caught,” Awasthi said.

Besides the DD news cameraman, sub-inspector Rudra Pratap and assistant constable Mangalu were also killed in the attack. The security personnel immediately took the position and retaliated. The gun battle continued for about an hour before the rebels fled when reinforcement came.

The attack came as contrary to the rebels appeal to the journalists to visit the interior areas without fear for reporting.