Raipur, April 28 (IANS) Heartbreaking scenes were witnessed at Kasoli village in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Friday where a large number of tribals, including women and children, had gathered to bid adieu to their local hero, Lakhmu Markam, one of the 10 District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans killed in a Maoist attack in the district on Wednesday.

While the family members and villagers were busy performing tribal rituals to pay last respect to the martyr amid "Saheed Jawan Amar Rahe" slogans, Markam's grieving wife lay down on her husband's funeral pyre.

While the aggrieved family members surrounded Markam's body kept just a few metres from the pyre, his inconsolable wife continued to lie on it. When the woman was asked to come down, she said she cannot see her husband's body going up in flames.

Despite her resistance, the villagers somehow managed to convince her to come down from the pyre after which Markam's last rites were performed.

A local journalist reporting from the ground clicked pictures of the heartbreaking scenes and shared them on social media.

As per official information, Markam was a trained cop who was earlier associated with 'Salwa Judum', a militia group of local tribals formed to counter Maoist activities, which was dissolved following a Supreme Court order in 2011.

Later, he was inducted into the DRG which was formed by the Chhattisgarh government in Dantewada district in 2015. DRG is a special force of the Chhattisgarh police, which mostly involves local tribals and surrendered Maoists, for carrying out anti-Maoist operations.

As per official information, five out of the 10 DRG personnel killed in the Dantewada ambush were surrendered Maoists who had joined the force after laying down their arms.

"Local tribals are recruited in DRG because they are more familiar with the surroundings, and have better knowledge about Maoist activities in their areas. DRG teams have carried out several successful anti-Maoist operations from time to time, which is why they have become targets of the Maoists," said a Raipur-based journalist.

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh), April 26 (IANS) Ten men drawn from Chhattisgarh Police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a civilian were martyred on Wednesday in a forested patch of Dantewada district as Maoists blew up a vehicle using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).

The incident created widespread anger in Chhattisgarh and locals in picturesque Bastar region, which includes Dantewada, sought revenge but Maoists slipped into the forested hilly parts after killing DRG personnel at Aranpur police station area.

The bloodshed in Dantewada on Wednesday took place after a prolonged period of peace and there was a wider belief in the state that Chhattisgarh government has finally contained Maoist violence.

The paramilitary forces have launched a major operation immediately, along with local police, to track down the armed Maoists who carried out the deadly attack.

The tragic incident has been strongly condemned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said in a tweet that sacrifices of martyred jawans will always be remembered.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that he was anguished by the cowardly attack on Chhattisgarh Police and assured all help to state government. He spoke to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel too.

Baghel has put off his scheduled Karnataka trip to campaign for party in May 10 Assembly polls and he would be visiting to Dantewada on Thursday to assess the security situation on ground.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi have strongly condemned the Dantewada attack.