Sukma (Chhattisgarh), April 6 Nearly a week after Chhattisgarh was declared free from armed insurgency, a memorial dedicated to the 76 security personnel killed in a 2010 Maoist ambush in the Tadmetla area of Sukma district was inaugurated on Monday in a village near the site of the attack.
Officials said the memorial was set up by the district administration, police, and the Central Reserve Police Force near the CPRF camp in the Gadgadmeta village.
On April 6, 2010, in one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in the country, 76 security personnel, including 75 CRPF soldiers from the 62nd battalion and a police head constable, were killed by Naxals in the forests between Gadgadmeta and Tadmetla villages in the then Dantewada district (the area now falls in Sukma district).
On Monday, CRPF Director General Gyanendra Pratap Singh, the state's Additional Director General (Anti-Naxal Operations) Vivekanand Sinha, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam, and officials from the CRPF, police, and administration paid tribute on the anniversary of the ambush and formally dedicated the memorial to the public.
"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 ultimate sacrifices," Pattilingam told reporters.
He said that more than 1,500 personnel have lost their lives in the Bastar division over the past 30 to 40 years, while around 2,100 villagers have also died for the larger good and peace of the region.
"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 in line with the government's vision.
"As a result, the goal of a Naxal-free Bastar, Sukma and Bharat has almost been achieved. Work is still underway in some remaining pockets," he said.
Pattilingam asserted that development works in the region will be accelerated by drawing inspiration from the martyrs' sacrifice.
Chhattisgarh, particularly the Bastar region, which had grappled with Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) for over four decades, was declared free of armed Maoists on March 31, coinciding with the Centre's deadline to eliminate the menace from the country.