Four policemen, including a company commander, were burnt alive when heavily armed Naxalites belonging to Peoples’ War Group (PWG) set afire a private passenger bus near Basagura in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh today.The Rajasthan Travels bus was on its way to Abhapalli and there were 43 passengers, along with six policemen, in it. Reports reaching here said the Naxalites, who intercepted the bus 8 km short of Abhapalli around 9 am this morning, had planned to hijack the bus to demand release of some top Naxal leaders arrested by the Andhra Pradesh government.However the policemen opened fire on them from inside the bus. The passengers were made to get off and escape even as policemen exchanged fire with the Naxalites.While the cops were holed up inside the bus, the ultras lobbed a petrol bomb to set the bus ablaze. Additional DGP (Intelligence) R.L. Amarvanshi told The Indian Express that four policemen, including company commander Satish Chand Katyal, died in the incident. Others killed have been identified as Rakesh Kumar, Jagdish, Naval Kishor and Boga Ram. The remaining two policemen managed to kill one Naxalite, forcing his comrades to flee to the nearby forests.DGP Ashok Darbari has reached Bastar to supervise the combing operation. The Chhattisgarh police have also got in touch with Andhra Pradesh police to seek their help in nabbing the culprits.This is the first such Naxal-related incident of violence in the state this year and comes close on the heels of a major pro-Naxal rally which the tribals held in Rajnandgaon district.
