April 2010 Maoist attack in Dantewada The April 2010 Dantewada Maoist attack , was an ambush by Naxalite - Maoist insurgents from the Communist Party of India ( Maoist ) near Chintalnar village in Dantewada district , Chhattisgarh , India , leading to the killing of 76 CRPF policemen and 8 Maoists — the deadliest attack by the Maoists on Indian security forces . The attack occurred when over 80 officers from the central paramilitary force Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF ) and a local police group were conducting an area domination exercise in the Bastar tribal region of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh . Background . Indian Maoists , or Naxal s , were named after a 1967 leftist armed uprising against the Indian state originating in the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal . The movement had its intellectual roots in the doctrines of Mao Tse - Tung promoting armed overthrow of the ruling class by the peasant and worker class . The original movement had weakened considerably by the 1970s , but it started spreading across a swathe of India ' s poorest districts , the so - called red corridor , a tribal belt running through the mainly Santhal regions of West Bengal , Jharkhand , Orissa , and then through the Gond and other tribal regions of Andhra Pradesh , into the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh . Two separate radical leftist groups , the Communist Party of India ( Marxist - Leninist ) People ' s War party ( also known as the People ' s War Group ) and the Maoist Communist Centre merged to form the Communist Party of India ( Maoist ) in September 2004 . This happened within four months of the end of India ' s centre - right nationalist BJP - led NDA government and the start of the Congress - led UPA government in alliance with the Left Front ( a grouping of India ' s leftist and communist parties ) . After the 2009 Indian general election , the Congress - led UPA managed to come to power at the centre without the support of the Left Front or communist parties . Within one month of that election , the Government of India declared the CPI ( Maoist ) as a designated terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities ( Prevention ) Act . A few months later Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the Maoists pose the biggest internal threat to India ' s security and their activities had intensified over the previous years . The insurgency points to the commercial development and industrialization in forest regions that are home to India ' s tribal communities , resulting in loss of land or livelihood as justification for its activities . These regions are noted for lack of development ; at 30 % literacy , the Dantewada district has the lowest literacy rate in the nation . Before the incident at Chintalnar in Dantewada , in March 2007 , Maoists were also blamed for the killing of 55 policemen in Chhattisgarh . In the February 2010 Silda camp attack , at least 25 policemen were killed in eastern West Bengal when their camp came under fire . In response to the growing insurgency , Indian paramilitary forces launched a large - scale offensive , popularly known as Operation Green Hunt , against the rebels along the red corridor which includes the Dantewada district . Dantewada district is a " remote , sparsely - populated and under - developed " area which is regarded as the " nerve center " of the Maoists . About 66 % of the district ' s population consists of tribal peoples ( known as adivasi s ) . In 2006 , " The Economist " noted that Naxalite - Maoist insurgency is " most intense " in the Dantewada district and linked the popularity of the Maoists among the local populace to the region ' s lack of development . Indian forces and Maoist insurgents had been involved in numerous skirmishes in the Dantewada district since 2007 . In September 2009 , Commando Battalion for Resolute Action ( COBRA ) personnel and state police forces killed about 30 Maoist rebels in Dantewada during an intense gun - battle . Ambush . According to police reports , 300 rebels initially attacked a convoy of the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF ) in the Talmetla area as they were returning from an operation . India ' s home minister P Chidambaram said that it appeared that the forces had " walked " into a rebel ambush by returning to the police base via the same route they had come . " Something has gone very wrong . They seem to have walked into a trap set by the [ Maoists ] and casualties are quite high , " he said . Police sources reported that the Maoists triggered two land mines targeting the mine protected vehicles carrying the jawans . The attack took place when the CRPF unit belonging to the 62 Battalion entered the forest for an operation between 6 and 7 am and were ambushed by the Maoists . Repercussions . The attacks were seen as a setback to efforts to cleanse the eastern parts of the Naxals in order to open up the regions that are rich in iron ore , coal , bauxite and manganese to investment . NMDC Ltd . operates its biggest iron - ore mine , while Essar Steel Ltd . plan a $ 1 . 5 billion steel plant in the district . The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India ( ASSOCHAM ) in a statement said " If such activities continue , investments do get impacted and even committed investments would fly away . " CPI activist Kartam Joga was arrested in connection with the attacks on 14 September 2010 . His arrest has been controversial and was condemned by Amnesty International , who described the charges as " fabricated " and named him a prisoner of conscience . Reaction . P Chidambaram , India ' s home minister , condemned the attack , saying it showed the " savage nature " of the Maoists . The attack was a blow to the Indian government as it comes days after Home Minister P Chidambaram described the rebels as " cowards enacting dramas " . Mr Chidambaram has said troops will intensify the offensive if the rebels do not renounce violence and enter peace talks . On 9 April Mr . Chidamabram offered his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue , which the Prime Minister rejected . The Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) argued for an " all - out offensive " against the Maoists . The Maoist leader Gopal stated that the attack was conducted as a " direct consequence " to the government ' s Operation Green Hunt .