The tendency among policemen to keep away from Maoist battle zone is increasing and that is a not a good sign at a time when Chhattisgarh has been gearing up for the biggest surgical strikes against insurgents,' said a senior officer here at the police headquarters.

In July, 29 constables were suspended in Janjgir-Champa district after they refused to go for a 15-day orientation course at the Counter-Insurgency Training and Jungle Warfare College (CTJWC).

Chhattisgarh has been witnessing a string of attacks on policemen and civilians since June 2005 when a government-backed civil militia movement, Salwa Judum, was launched in Bastar to flush out the rebels.

Over 1,500 people have been killed in Maoist-related violence in Chhattisgarh since November 2000, when the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh.