Explosive planted in Dantewada 2 months before blast, say police

RAIPUR: Two days after a deadly Maoist blast killed 10 security personnel and a civilian in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh police on Friday said that the IED was planted about two months ago under the road, and it wasn't detected in the demining exercise carried out to sanitise the route.
The convoy carrying 200 jawans back from an operation was hit near Aranpur on the Aranpur-Dantewada Road on April 26. It's the biggest Maoist attack in two years and led to questions on why the IED wasn't detected and whether SOPs had been followed.
Bastar inspector-general of police P Sundarraj on Friday said that the IED weighed 40-50kg but it couldn't be detected as it was planted too deep. The explosive device was so powerful that it blew a deep crater spanning the width of the road and blasted the vehicle carrying the jawans to smithereens. Police are still investigating how the bomb went undetected, the IG said.
"Upon inspecting the location, it appeared that the IED was planted more than two months ago as grass had grown on the soil surrounding the wire, which extended from the IED and connected with the trigger," the IG said, giving details of the preliminary investigation report
"Prima facie, it appears that the Maoists planted the IED by tunneling (under the road). Taking refuge in the dense forest, they buried the wire in the ground about 2-3 inches deep and extended it to 150 meters. Such tunneling is called a 'foxhole mechanism,' which doesn't get detected in the de-mining process," Sundarraj said, adding that more information will surface as the investigation progresses.
Police have identified some Maoists behind the attack. A case has been registered under UAPA and the Arms Act against Darbha division committee cadres Jagdeesh, Lakkhe, Linge, Somdu, Mahesh.
Martyrs’ kin to get financial aid
Giving the sequence of events, the IG said that DRG troops and Chhattisgarh Armed Force jawans from Dantewada launched an anti-Naxalite operation on the intervening night of April 25, on the basis of specific inputs about the presence of Maoists.
Around 6:30 the next morning, an encounter with Maoists took place, after which the jawans nabbed two suspected Maoists, identified as militia members Sanna alias Kosa Madwi and Lakhma Kawasi. When the duo was being brought to Dantewada by DRG jawans in three vehicles, Maoists triggered an IED blast, the IG said. The kin of the martyred DRG jawans and the civilian driver will be given compassionate appointment and financial aid, as per the government’s policies, officers have said.