Belonging to one of the aboriginal tribal communities—for whose cause the Maoists claim to be fighting—Inspector Vinod Kumar Dhurv, 35, in charge of Mohalla police station in Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh, fell prey to Naxalite bullets.

“On the morning of July 12, he told me how Naxalites had shot down two constables at the Madanwada outpost. He said that he and his constables had to bring back the bodies of their colleagues. I asked him to have breakfast and carry lunch, but he said he was in a hurry and would be back by evening,” says wife Santoshi, who has now moved to a rented house in Rajnandgaon along with her children — four-year-old Tanisha and two-and-half-year-old Trisha.

It was only three months ago that Dhurv got promoted as town inspector. Though classified as a sensitive area, Manpur-Mohalla—bordering Maharashtra and tribal Bastar—had not witnessed any major Naxalite violence until recently.

Dhurv was one of five personnel sent from Mohalla police station to Madanwada. Dhurv was pillion riding on constable Rajnikant Thakur’s motorcycle. At Manpur, they were joined by security personnel from other districts . “Nobody anticipated an attack on the main road,” says a constable who survived. “Twenty-eight security personnel, including the SP, died,” he says.

Dhurv’s wife Santoshi has been assured a job by the police department at Rajnandgaon.