Raipur: A helicopter of the Chhattisgarh government came under attack by Maoists while it was flying over a hilly region in south Bastar in the state, but escaped the assault with a minor damage, a police officer said on Tuesday. The incident took place late on Monday evening and has been kept under wraps “for security reasons,” the police official confided.
“The copter came under firing by Naxals while it flying between Pamed and Bhadrakali in south Bastar district of Bijapur. The pilot felt a minor jolt but could not assess the situation. That the Maoists tried to shoot down the copter was known after it landed at Jagdalpur airbase where the ground staff noticed bullet mark on its tail,” he revealed.
According to him, preliminary inquiry has revealed that light machine guns were used to target the copter. “A major disaster has been averted. The bullet missed the fuel tank and ro-tor by a few inches. Had it hit either of them, the copter could have crashed,” he added.
This was the third incident of Maoist attack on a copter in Bastar in the current year.
