A video, shot by an assistant cameraman working with National broadcaster Doordarshan, has surfaced where the journalist is detailing the ongoing “terrorist attack” and in an emotional “last message” tells his mother that he may not survive the attack.

Maoists had attacked a Doordarshan crew travelling with a patrolling unit in sensitive Dantewada district of election-bound Chhattisgarh. The crew was attacked by Naxals in the Nilavaya village in Aranpur area of the district. According to TV reports, one DD cameraman and two policemen were killed in the attack.

Mor Mukut Sharma, the assistant cameraman in the video, who was also part of the crew, filmed a video message during the encounter, detailing the incident.

They were heading to a new polling booth in Nilawaya near Sumeli camp, where people have not voted for the past 20 years, when they were ambushed by the Maoists.

A Road Opening Party (ROP) of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CPRF’s) 111th battalion had launched an operation to ensure security to road construction workers

The Doordarshan team, along with the security personnel from Aranapur police station led by sub-inspector Rudra Pratap Singh, was also heading towards Nilawaya on motorcycles to cover news related to development work and polling preparations, special director general (Naxal operations) DM Awasthi said.

“A terrorist attack has happened. We were covering the elections in Dantewada and the army was with us, when suddenly the Naxalites surrounded us from all four directions.” He also addressed his love for his mother: “Mum, if I survive this incident, I just want you to know that I love you very much. Chances are that I won’t survive this attack, the situation is not right.” Sharma further went on to state his lack of fear during the encounter. “I do not know why, but I am not scared while looking death in the face. It will be difficult to survive this.”

He said that the crew was accompanied by six or seven jawans. Some of them can be seen, in another video recorded by Sharma, asking the crew to lay low during the attack. Sharma was heard asking for water from one of the security personnel.

The crew was attacked by Maoists in the Nilavaya village in Aranpur area of the district. Achyutanand Sahu, the Doordarshan cameraperson hailed from Loisingha, Bolangir district of Odisha. The slain police personnel were identified as Mangal Ram and Rudra Pratap Singh. Two others, including constable Vishnu Netam and assistant constable Rakesh Kaushal, were injured and were taken to the hospital.

Ahead of the state’s Assembly polls scheduled for November, this is the second incident of insurgency-driven violence in less than five days. On 27 October, four personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and two injured after Naxals blew up a mine-protected-vehicle (MPV) in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday, police said.