Raipur, March 15: One of the biggest Maoist attacks in the country at Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh could possibly have been averted had the security agencies paid any heed to an intelligence report hinting the same, a top police officer said.

The officer added that the Ranibodli outpost, which was covered by a dense forest, was on the rebel hit list.

The intelligence agencies had reportedly alerted the security agencies after the April 16, 2006, attack on the Murkinar police outpost in Dantewada in which 11 police personnel were killed and arms and ammunition looted.

But the security personnel had failed to spot the movement of the rebels in the area even as hundreds of Maoists sneaked into the densely-forested area to complete a major operation.

“Some lapse had occurred on the part of the security personnel that resulted in such a major incident,” chief minister Raman Singh told The Telegraph, adding that a lapse will be instituted to identify those responsible for the security goof-up.

According to a senior police official, the rebels struck in a strategic manner and launched an attack from different corners of the post simultaneously.

Security personnel patrolling the area and even the intelligence agencies had failed to spot the movement of hundreds of Maoists camping in the area bordering Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.

The Military Dalam — the powerful group of outlawed conducting major operations — with the help of local squads was reported to be behind today’s incident.

This was the first major operation of the Naxalites in the state after it organised its 9th Congress in January-February this year after a hiatus of 36 years.

Former chief minister Ajit Jogi blamed the Maoist attack on a complete intelligence failure and the lack of strategy on the part of the state government in dealing with the red army. “If the Maoists in Nepal could be brought back to the mainstream, why should Chhattisgarh be an exceptional case?” Jogi asked.