Two policemen killed in Naxal firing in Dantewada

Additional Director General of Police (naxal operations) Ram Niwas told PTI here that outlaws attacked the police team while they were on a patrol in the Bacheli area during the weekly market, killing two personnels.

The policemen also fired in retaliation but the naxalites managed to flee the spot, Niwas said.

The deceased -- identified as constable Mahavir Markole and homeguard jawan Jitendra Chaudhary -- succumbed to their wounds at a Dantewada hospital, he said.

Those injured include an assistant police inspector two jawans and the van driver. All have been hospitalised, he said.

Following the abduction of Sukma district Collector Alex Paul Menon, the Maoists had demanded a total halt on the anti-naxal operations in the area. PTI SNG DK HKS