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Rajnath Singh Won't Celebrate Holi This Year In View Of Maoist Attack In Sukma

The Home Minister described the attack as "cowardly" and said that the CRPF jawans' sacrifice won't go in vain.
File photo of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
AFP/Getty Images
File photo of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

NEW DELHI -- Home minister Rajnath Singh has decided not to play Holi on Monday in view of the killing of 12 CRPF personnel by Maoists in Chhattisgarh.

The Home Minister will not play Holi this time as he was saddened by the death of the 12 CRPF men at Sukma in Chhattisgarh, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

In one of the deadliest attacks on security forces, 12 CRPF personnel were on Saturday killed and their arms looted when Naxals ambushed their patrol party in the Maoist hotbed of Sukma in Chhattisgarh.

The incident occurred at 9.15 AM in the dense forests near Kottacheru village under Bhejji police station, around 450 kms away from the state capital, when 112 personnel of CRPF's 219th battalion were out for a road opening task.

Singh had visited Raipur on Saturday where he paid respect to the departed souls. The Home Minister has described the attack on CRPF personnel as "cowardly act" and said their sacrifices won't go in vain.

It has been decided that the total ex gratia which will be given to the families of the slain jawans should not be less than ₹1 crore, the Home minister had said.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.