Had no intention to attack DD video journalist, clarify Maoists

Bhubaneswar: While the entire nation is condemning the Dantewada Maoists attack that killed a Doordarshan video journalist from Odisha on Oct 30, the ultras have come out with a clarification claiming that they had no intention to kill the media person.

“We had no intention to target media. But, the DD cameraperson Achutyananda Sahu was killed in the gunfight,” said Darbha Divisional Committee of (CPI) Maoists in a release issued on Oct 31.

The left-wing extremists clarified that the media is not their enemies rather friends.

“We had carried out an ambush opposing the road construction work from Aranpur to Burgum. We attacked them after they reached Aranpur. But we had no idea that a Doordarshan team had accompanied the team of security personnel,” said Maoists said in the statement.

They urged the media not to accompany the police team that is on duty ahead of the polls in Chhattisgarh.

Notably, Achutyananda Sahu from Loisingha in Odisha’s Balangir district and two other police personnel were martyred in the Maoists attack in Dantewada district, which is set to go for polling in the first phase of Assembly elections in the state on November 12.

Two other police personnel and a journalist also sustained injuries in the ambush that took place around 11.20 am on Oct 30 when a Doordarshan crew was moving with a security patrol for coverage in Aranpur area.

While two security personnel died on the spot, DD cameraman Sahu later succumbed to his injuries.