Chhattisgarh CM Baghel Honours 29 Policemen Martyred In Madanwada Naxal Violence

The Rajnandgaon ambush is considered one of the most severe attacks by naxalite rebels in Chhattisgarh.

29 police personnel lost their life in Madanwada Maoist attack in July 2009. Photo for representation.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel paid a tribute to former Superintendent of Police Vinod Chaubey and 28 other policemen who were martyred on 12 July 2009 in Madanwada Naxal Attack in Rajnandgaon district of the state.

SP Vinod Chaubey was the first IPS officer to be martyred in the state's Naxal operation. He was posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra and was killed in an encounter during the attack.

The three-stage attack by Maoists which resulted in 29 soldiers losing their lives to a gun battle in 2009 was one of the biggest Maoist attacks in the history of the state.

CM Baghel tweeted, "On this day, July 12 2009, in the forests of Madanwada in Rajnandgaon, the brave Superintendent of Police, Late Vinod Chaubey ji, and his team sacrificed their lives for Chhattisgarh while taking on the Naxalites in the forests of Madanwada in Rajnandgaon. We all bow down to such great martyrs and offer our wreaths. We are all proud of you. Jai Hind."

The martyred officers, include Sub Inspector Komal Sahu, Sub Inspector Dhanesh Sahu, Head Constable Sundar Lal Chaudhary, Head Constable Dushyant Singh, Constable Premchand Paswan, Constable Arvind Sharma, Head Constable Geeta Bhandari, Head Constable Zacharias Khalkho, Head Constable Sanjay Yadav, Constable Prakash Verma, Beduram Suryavanshi, Subhash Kumar Behera, Tikeshwar Deshmukh, Suryapal Vatti, Ajay Kumar Bhardwaj, Manoj Verma, Lokesh Chedaiya, Constable Shyamlal Bhoi, Mithlesh Kumar Sahu, Constable Rajnikant, Nikesh Sahu, Constable Santram Sahu, Constable Jhaduram Sahu, Constable Amit Nayak, Vedprakash Yadav, Ritesh Kumar Vaishnav, and Constable Lalbahadur Nag.