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Chhattisgarh MLA escapes Naxalite bullets
Raipur, January 12, 2012
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Three security personnel suffered minor injuries, caused by glass splinters, when Maoists unleashed a hail of gunfire yesterday on the five-vehicle convoy of Dantewada legislator Bheema Mandawi who, along with party workers and 17 other guards, escaped unhurt.
Mandawi was returning to his hometown Dantewada from the Bacheli-Bailadila mining area, sources said.
The guerilla-style attack on the MLA, who is on the rebel hit-list for spearheading the anti-ultra Salwa Judum movement in restive Bastar Division and had received several threats, occurred at about 1700 hrs yesterday in Gamabada Panchayat limits.
Blaming the incident on "intelligence failure," the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator said, "We set out for Dantewada only after a green signal from police. One of the vehicles in the rear was hit by multiple rounds that shattered panes. I was in the first vehicle. We sped away after hearing the shots."
For the past few days, Mandawi has been regularly visiting the Bacheli-Bailadila area, bordering Bijapur, in connection with organisational matters.
In July, extremists ambushed Congress state President Nandkumar Patel's convoy at Udanti, killing four persons and hurting five.
Dantewada is Chhattisgarh's most insurgency-affected district.
NNN
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