Maoist Rebels Escape from Indian Prison

by Can Tran    December 16, 2007

While there are 377 inmates whom are detained at the Dantewada prison in the Chhattisargh state, about 299 of them have escaped according to a police spokesman. While it is not confirmed, the rest of the prisoners have taken control of the prison.

“The inmates overpowered the prison guards and fled amid gunfire,” according to police superintendent Rahul Sharma who told New Delhi Television.

Intelligence sources cited by India’s Zee News explain that before the escape, there were clashes between inmates. It is said that the clashes were planned to be a distraction prelude to the escape.

Most of the prisoners are mainly Naxalite rebels who are fighting for a communist state in the eastern part of India. These Maoist guerillas have been deemed a threat to India’s national security by Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister.

While the rebels claim to be fighting for the rights of tribes and landless peasants, they have killed thousands of people in the past three decades. Those killed include hundreds of police officers.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

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