In the latest incident, they have blown up a bus carrying CISF personnel in southern part of the state.
Five personnel were killed in this IED blast. They included four civilians and a CISF jawan. Several other personnel were injured in the terror attack.
The incident occurred at Bacheli, which is located in Dantewada district. The bus was badly damaged in the attack.
"In all, seven people including three CISF jawans from Akash Nagar camp were going for routine purchase on a private bus deployed for election duty, when they were targeted by Maoists", said a Hindustan Times report, quoting Bastar IG Vivekananda Sinha.
Those killed included the driver of the bus and two other on the staff-driver and cleaner. This is the second such attack in ten days in Dantewada. Earlier, a Doordarshan cameraman covering the polls and two policemen were killed on October 30.
The DD team was going to Nilawaya near Sumeli camp to report on a new polling booth. There was outrage all over the country after the incident. A video of one of the DD staffer had gone viral.
The Naxalites' audacity is all the more surprising as barely a few days from now, high-profile politicians are set to visit the region. PM Narendra Modi is arriving here for campaigning ahead of the Assembly polls. Also, Congress president Rahul Gandhi would also reach Chhattisgarh this month.
Clearly, Naxals have sent a signal. The attack also suggests that law-and-order situation remains poor in the State despite claims of crackdown on Maoists. In fact, it also shows poor intelligence gathering from the Maoist-infested region. Reports in Patrika and Hindustan Times, Delhi. Both carried it on front page but none used the word 'Terrorism'.
