Maoist Murder

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At least 35 people, including 11 special police officers — tribals recruited to assist anti-Naxal operations — were killed when the passenger bus in which they were travelling was destroyed in a Maoist landmine blast at Chingawaram, in Chhattisgarh’s Dante-wada district, nearly 480 km from here, on Monday evening.

Chhattisgarh director-general of police Vishwa Ranjan, however, said at least 50 people were feared killed in the incident, which occurred at around 5.15 pm. “I fear at least 50 people were killed. We are still getting updates on casualties from the spot,” the DGP told reporters here late Monday evening. Chief minister Raman Singh put the toll at 35.
“The dead include 11 SPOs and 24 civilians, including women and children,” Mr Singh told reporters here Monday evening. At least 20 people, including six SPOs, were injured in the incident. The injured have been admitted to government hospitals at Gadiras and Sukma, official sources here said.
The bus, carrying around 55 passengers, including 25 SPOs, was travelling from Dantewada to Sukma.
“This is the first time the Naxals have attacked a passenger bus. Perhaps the bus was attacked to target the SPOs,” Sukma deputy superintendent of police Sanjay Sharma told this newspaper.
According to police sources, the Maoists detonated a powerful landmine planted by the metalled road using a remote control device. The 70-seater bus was tossed nearly 20 feet into the air and was completely mangled. The explosion created a 10-foot-deep crater around which the dead lay scattered about.
Eye-witnesses contacted by this newspaper said local villagers and policemen rushed to the area, surrounded by thick forest, to retrieve the bodies and rescue the injured. Reports reaching here late Monday night said at least 14 bodies were still lying trapped in the mangled bus.
A rescue team, along with a search party comprising senior police and paramilitary officers, reached the spot late in the evening and were battling hard to extricate the bodies when reports last came in.
The CM described the situation as “very serious” and added that “no one, including the media, politicians and other sections of society, should be sympathetic towards the Maoists.” “All politicians should sit together and discuss how to deal with the Maoist problem,” a visibly upset Mr Singh said.
This is the worst Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh after the ambush in Dantewada on April 6 this year that left 75 CRPF jawans and a state police head constable dead on April 6.