--- description: An ambush lead by Maoist forces left at least 16 police officers dead in India's Chhattisgarh state. title: India: Maoist Ambush Against Security Forces Leaves 16 Police Dead image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt406955cf2c30709d/69868504cd804d0568cc9afd/india-maoist.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Indian Maoists Massacre 16 Police Officers During Ambush by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2014 7:07 AM CUT  An injured Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel is taken to a hospital at Raipur in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh March 11, 2014. An injured Indian Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel is taken to a hospital at Raipur in the eastern Indian state of Chhattisgarh March 11, 2014.Reuters by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 12, 2014 7:07 AM CUT Sixteen Indian police officers were killed in an ambush by an [estimated 200 Maoist rebel fighters](http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/21931117/indian-maoists-kill-16-police-in-deadly-ambush/ "undefined") in Chhattisgarh state on Tuesday. “The attack sparked a gun battle that lasted about three hours,” Rajinder Kumar Vij, who heads anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh, told the AFP. The gun battle occurred near to where a convoy of members from India’s ruling Congress Party was targeted by Maoists last May, which resulted in the deaths of 24 people. The brazen assault on state security forces in the restive state comes just over a month before India is set to begin nationwide elections. Maoist insurgents have been battling the central government for more than four decades and have been described as one the greatest threats to India’s internal security by outgoing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. \[[AFP](http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/world/a/21931117/indian-maoists-kill-16-police-in-deadly-ambush/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/20963/indian-maoists-massacre-16-police-officers-during-ambush/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/20963/indian-maoists-massacre-16-police-officers-during-ambush/"},"headline":"Indian Maoists Massacre 16 Police Officers During Ambush","datePublished":"2014-03-12T07:07:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:42:56.774Z","description":"Attack in restive state comes a month before nationwide elections","url":"https://time.com/20963/indian-maoists-massacre-16-police-officers-during-ambush/","keywords":["India","elections","Civil War"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt406955cf2c30709d/69868504cd804d0568cc9afd/india-maoist.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt406955cf2c30709d/69868504cd804d0568cc9afd/india-maoist.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An injured Indian CRPF personnel is taken to a hospital at Raipur","caption":"An injured Indian CRPF personnel is taken to a hospital at Raipur","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/20963/indian-maoists-massacre-16-police-officers-during-ambush/","name":"Indian Maoists Massacre 16 Police Officers During Ambush"}}]}] ```