Naxals torch tractor, mixture machine in Chhattisgarh

A tractor and a mixture machine engaged in road construction work was today set on fire allegedly by naxals in Chhattisgarh s insurgency-hit Narayanpur district, police said.

The incident took place between Dhanora and Orchha villages under Orchha police station limits where construction of a culvert over a rivulet was underway, a local police official told PTI.

The road is being constructed between Narayanpur town and Orchha, around 350 kms from state capital Raipur.

As per preliminary information, around 50 armed Naxals stormed the area and after threatening the workers on the construction site, they torched a tractor and a mixture machine stationed at the construction site, he said.

They warned workers against getting involved in construction works and then fled into the forests, he added.

On getting information about the incident, a police team was rushed to the spot and a combing operation was launched in the area to nab the attackers, the official said.

Naxals have been opposing the construction of this road which is being built in their stronghold, he added.

On April 24, as many as 25 CRPF personnel were killed and seven others injured when naxals attacked a patrol party of the paramilitary troops while they were ensuring security to the road construction work near Burkapal village of the state's Sukma district.