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| Kathmandu, Thursday May 09, 2002 Baishakh 26, 2059. |
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Over 100 security
men missing in Rolpa
Maoists suffer causalities in Chainpur
By Khim Ghale &
Surya Biswokarma in Pyuthan
J. Pandey in Nepalgunj
May 8 - More than a
hundred security personnel have been missing and most of them feared dead following a
fierce encounter with the Maoist guerrillas at the Gam village area of Rolpa district late
Tuesday night. The exact figure of casualties could not be ascertained but those feared
dead include 40 soldiers the rest Armed Police Force (APF) personnel and the police.
Additional deployment
has been made to combat the Maoists who are still believed to be in the close by areas.
The casualties on Maoist side also could not be ascertained.
The rebels however
suffered major reverses in Chainpur in Sankhuwasabha. Atleast 11 Maoists were killed and
half a dozen more wounded in retaliatory action taken by the APF. Officials confirmed at
least four APF personnel also lost their lives with at least a dozen wounded, five of them
seriously. Death toll on the Maoists side could be much higher, officials said adding five
of the wounded Maoists have also been captured.
Out of 165 security
personnel stationed in the Gam area in Rolpa only 60 have come into contact as of filing
this report. The rebels might have used heavy weapons since the report could be heard in
Pyuthan district, our reporter said. Helicopter could not land at the opportune moment.
Security officials in
Pyuthan earlier said that 126 security personnel are still missing after the rebels
attacked the base camp. Among the missing security personnel is Major Nilkantha Khadka,
who was leading the joint security forces.
The government has not
confirmed about the status of these personnel but sources in the districts believe that
they have been killed in the attacks.
The Maoists attacked a
temporary security base in Gam VDC, which was set up about a year ago. Gam is located
about two days walking distance from Liwang, the district headquarters of Rolpa, and about
a day’s walk from Khalanga, the district headquarters of Pyuthan.
Details of the
casualties on the security forces and the Maoists sides are sketchy as the battle site is
far away from Liwang and communication is totally disrupted.
The Defence Ministry in
Kathmandu also conceded that the incident took place and heavy gunfights between the two
sides continued in Gam VDC till Wednesday. But the Ministry did not give any details about
the incident.
The Ministry said that
the reinforcements of the security forces have been sent to the site from Nepalgunj,
Pyuthan and Liwang.
Our reporter in
Nepalgunj said that six injured security personnel - three soldiers, two policemen and one
APF policeman - were airlifted from Gam area to Nepalgunj for treatment.
Security sources in
Nepalgunj said that 56 security personnel who were on a regular patrol in the Gam area
came in to the contact of the reinforcement sent to the site from Nepalgunj. A helicopter
carrying the reinforcement reportedly landed at a place that lies about two hours walking
distance from Gam VDC.
A security official
said that the reinforcement that moved ahead of the battle site clashed with another rebel
group while searching the missing security personnel.
Security officials in
Pyuthan said that there were 186 security personnel, including the RNA soldiers, APF, and
civilian policemen, stationed in the temporary base camp in Gam VDC. Out of these, 126
personnel were still missing till late Wednesday, according to the security officials.
Shortly after the
rebels stormed into the Gam base camp, the security forces lost contact with the army
barracks in Liwang and Khalanga, said the officials.
It is speculated that
the rebels could have concentrated their guerrillas in the Gam area hoodwinking the
government’s forces in the Lisne Lek area for a week. The security forces had
concentrated their attention around the Lisne Lek area when the rebels attacked the Gam
base camp.
Two helicopters - MI-17
and Cheetah - had flown to the battle site at about 10 p.m. Tuesday but failed to land
there because of bad weather and returned to Khalanga. The choppers, however, flew to Gam
area in the second attempt after about an hour.
In Sankhuwasabha, the
rebels, who were hundreds in number, surrounded the Chainpur APF base camp and attacked it
from all sides. There were 140 APF personnel in Chainpur, hometown of Krishna Mohan
Shrestha, APF Inspector General of Police (IGP). His ancestral house is reportedly
destroyed in the Maoist attack. Additional reinforcement of the RNA forces has been sent
to the site from Hile of Dhankuta and Itahari of Sunsari districts.
The rebels had
destroyed a 50-kv transformer with a bomb before attacking the APF base. Although the
rebels had also raided the branch office of the state-owned Rastriya Banijya Bank, they
could not rob the bank as all the cash and valuables were kept in the APF barrack. But the
rebels looted gold and silver worth Rs. 100,000 from a local businessman Govindaman
Shakya.
The bodies of the
policemen were handed over to their respective family members and other injured police
personnel are undergoing treatment in the B P Koirala Memorial Hospital in Dharan.
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