Dantewada, Nov 1: The naxalite have released a note stating that they had no intention of targeting the media. The Doordarshan cameraman, Achutyanand Sahu was killed after being caught in the ambush. The letter also states that they had no intention of targeting the media.

However the police while reacting sharply to the statement said that the naxals had looted the camera because it had recorded evidence of what happened in the first few minutes of the ambush. The multiple bullet wounds and skull fractures on the martyred cameraman in no way indicates that it was by mistake, Dantewada SP, Abhishek Pallav told ANI.

It may be recalled that earlier this week two policemen and a cameraman from national broadcaster, Doordarshan were killed in a naxal attack at Dantewada, Chhattisgarh.

While the probe into the incident got underway, preliminary investigations say that the incident could be directly linked to the elections in the state. The first phase of the polls will be held in the state on November 12 covering 18 constituencies across the eight Naxal-affected districts namely Bastar, Kanker Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon. The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20, while counting will be held on December 11.

The Doordarshan crew was in Dantewada for the election coverage. They had interviewed SP Abhishek Pallav in the morning and were moving towards Nirbhaya when the incident occurred on the Aranpur-Dantewada road.