Around 3,000 CRPF troops were urgently airlifted to Gadchiroli late Saturday evening from Jharkhand in IL-76 aircraft to ensure security in the area in the run-up to the Assembly polls next Tuesday as the Opposition parties like the BJP and Shiv Sena did not agree to 89 poll booths being shifted to safer areas in this Naxal-hit belt at the last minute.

The government had to divert three CRPF battalions from its anti-Naxal operations in Jharkhand as the state government conveyed that its forces were feeling demoralised after losing 17 of their crack C-60 force men in the Naxal ambush on October 8.

Not only were the state police commandoes killed in a planned ambush, the armed rebels have now got hold of the two-inch mortar that was snatched from the police along with five AK-47 rifles.

“The last thing we want is the rebels to launch mortars at the polling stations,” said a senior official.

While the Centre is all set to tackle the Naxals, it is rather peeved at the state police for handling of the Gadchiroli incident as the Inspector General in-charge of Naxal operations was removed just two days before the incident and DGP S S Virk was sitting in Delhi on the day of daylight attack. The DGP, who is retiring at the end of this month, left Delhi the next day.

The decision to send additional forces was taken as the BJP and Shiv Sena did not agree to shift polling booths in the area at the last minute lest the polling officials get targeted by Naxalites while on way to their duties on foot. Rather than postpone polling in Gadchiroli to another date and in effect be seen to be kneeling before Naxals, the Centre chose to send the COBRA battalions.