Maoist rebels killed 74 members of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and two Chhattisgarh police officers in April 2010, and destroyed an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) near Chintalnar village in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, in their deadliest attack on security forces till date.
A constable and an assistant commandant of the CRPF, as well as a district police chief, were among those killed.
The attack took place in the Mukrana forest, about 540 kilometres southeast of Raipur, the state capital. Seven injured personnel were flown to Jagdalpur's Maharani Hospital by helicopter.
The attack occurred while over 85 officers from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a local police group were conducting an area domination exercise in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh's Bastar tribal region.
Ambush style attacks on Indian Police have been repeated since by Maoist miltants.
300 Naxal fighters attacked a CRPF convoy
According to police reports, 300 Naxal fighters initially attacked a convoy of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Talmetla area as they were returning from an operation. The Naxals were hiding when the 74th Battalion of the CRPF reached Kalapathar near Chintagufa in Sukma.
It was reported that Maoists waiting on hilltops opened indiscriminate fire and detonated an IED as the convoy approached. Later, the reinforcements rushed to the scene were also blown up.
The CRPF team, which consisted of only 120 personnel, was vastly outnumbered by nearly 1000 Maoists, who attacked and killed the jawans before fleeing with weapons such as bulletproof jackets, guns, and ammunition.
The attack was condemned by the then Home Minister of India P Chidambaram saying it showed the "savage nature" of the Maoists.
The Dantewada attack remains the worst ever attack in the history of Maoist insurgency, inflicting severe casualties to the Indian forces.
