RAIPUR, May 13: Four special policemen were killed and five people were injured on Saturday when hundreds of Maoist rebels stormed a relief centre in central India sheltering those fleeing guerilla violence.

The rebels attacked the government centre in the Chhattisgarh state’s Dantewada district, triggering a fierce gun battle with security forces for more than an hour.

“The Special Police Officers (killed) were not from the uniformed forces but were surrendered Naxalites (Maoists) appointed by the government to counter their former comrades,” state home minister Ramvichar Netam said.

The emergency centre was one of 27 the state government has set up to house and protect nearly 50,000 people from Maoist violence. Maoist rebels virtually run parallel administrations in 10 of the state’s 16 impoverished districts.

At least 145 people, including policemen, have died this year in stepped-up violence by the rebels in Chhattisgarh, one of 15 of India’s 29 states where left-wing rebels are active.—AFP