Sukma attack cold blooded, will review strategy : Rajnath

Raipur, April 25 (IANS) Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday termed the massacre of 25 CRPF personnel in Chhattisgarh "cold blooded murder" and said the government will review its anti-Maoist strategy.

Singh, who visited the state capital to pay tributes to the dead Central Reserve Police Force troopers at their camp, also said that Maoist outfits were against development.

He met Chief Minister Raman Singh and senior officials.

"The attack in Sukma is a cold blooded murder... It is an act of cowardice. The attack was out of desperation," Singh told reporters after paying homage to the dead men.

"We are working to root out the problem of LWE (Left Wing Extremism). The LWE groups are anti-development. They do not want development in the area. The Centre and state governments will work together," he added.

Rajnath Singh said he had convened a meeting of states affected by Maoism on May 8. "We will review the strategy and if necessary we will revisit it."

The Minister accused the Maoists of using tribals as fodder.

On Monday, 300 to 400 Maoists, including women, ambushed a CRPF contingent in a forested patch in Chhattisgarh, killing the troopers and escaping with their AK-47 assault rifles.

Singh, who reached Raipur with Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir and CRPF Additional Director General Sudeep Lakhtakia, said the government won't not let the sacrifices by the soldiers go in vain.

"We have accepted it as a challenge. It will be answered appropriately.

"We have lost precious lives of our soldiers... Left Wing Extremists are trying to impede the progress (of the region)... They are the biggest enemy of the poor," added Singh.

Singh also visited a hospital and enquired about the health of the CRPF personnel injured in the Maoist ambush.