Sixteen years after 76 security personnel were killed in one of the deadliest Maoist attacks in the country, a martyrdom memorial was inaugurated on Monday near the site of the ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.
The memorial, dedicated to the personnel killed in the April 6, 2010 attack in the Tadmetla area, has been set up near a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in Gadgadmeta village by the district administration, police, and the CRPF.
In the 2010 ambush, 76 personnel, including 75 CRPF jawans of the 62nd battalion and a police head constable — were killed by Maoists in the forests between Gadgadmeta and Tadmetla villages in the then Dantewada district, now part of Sukma. The attack remains one of the deadliest assaults on security forces in India.
Marking the anniversary, CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh, Additional Director General (Anti-Naxal Operations) Vivekanand Sinha, and Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam, along with officials from the CRPF, police, and administration, paid tribute to the fallen personnel and formally dedicated the memorial to the public.
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“For peace, security, and development in the Bastar region, comprising seven districts including Sukma, local police, the CRPF, other central armed forces, and local residents have made the supreme sacrifices,” Pattilingam said.
He noted that more than 1,500 security personnel have lost their lives in the Bastar division over the past three to four decades, while around 2,100 civilians have also died amid the conflict.
“Today, on April 6, 2026, we pay tribute at this very place to those martyred personnel and civilians. Drawing inspiration from their sacrifice, our security forces, district administration, local public, public representatives and all stakeholders have moved forward step by step with determination,” he said.
Pattilingam added that the goal of a Naxal-free Bastar, Sukma, and the country has “almost been achieved”, though operations continue in some pockets. He asserted that development works in the region would be accelerated, drawing inspiration from the sacrifices of those who lost their lives.
The inauguration comes nearly a week after Chhattisgarh, long affected by Left-Wing Extremism, was declared free of armed Maoist presence on March 31, marking a significant milestone in the region’s decades-long struggle against insurgency.
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