C'garh: Pipeline work equipment torched, Naxal hand suspected

Suspected Naxals set ablaze a vehicle and a machine engaged in laying a water pipeline in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said on Sunday. The incident took place late Saturday night in Masenar village where the pipeline was being laid for water supply, a local police official told PTI.

According to preliminary information, a group of suspected ultras stormed the site, located about 450 km from the state capital, and set on fire a JCB machine and a tractor parked there, he said. On getting information about the incident on Sunday morning, security forces rushed to the spot and launched a combing operation to trace the attackers, he said.

He said they suspect it to be the handiwork of Reds, though no Maoist pamphlet was recovered from the spot. Naxals have frequently tried to disrupt development projects, particularly road construction, in Bastar division, which comprises seven districts including Dantewada, by attacking security forces and damaging vehicles and machines used in the work, he said.