Seven police commandos killed in Naxalite landmine blast in Gadchiroli

CHANDRAPUR: Seven police commandos were killed and two others were seriously injured in a powerful landmine blast triggered by Maoists in Murmuri forest area in Gadchiroli on Sunday morning. The condition of one of the two injured jawans is reported critical while the other is out of danger. The attack is considered significant as it came only a day after the arrest of Delhi university professor GN Saibaba for his alleged Naxal links.

Gadchiroli police had initiated intense anti-Naxal operations following the incident of arson in Pavimundra forest area of Chamorshi tehsil since last three days. The operation was called off on Sunday and vehicles were sent to village Murmuri in the morning to collect the C-60 squad, the elite anti-Naxal force, and bring them back to the base in Gadchiroli.

Lurking Naxals triggered powerful blast at 9.40am and blew one of the five police vehicles on Murmari-Pavimundara road, 27km from district headquarter Gadchiroli. Nine C-60 commandos, including the driver, were travelling in the targeted vehicle. "The landmine was planted under the recently patched up approach road leading to a bridge on a forest nullah. Naxalites let a couple of police vehicles pass over the landmine and then triggered the IED blast, blowing away the third vehicle in the convoy," said an officer who visited the scene after the blast.

Sources said that the targeted C-60 squad was led by Indershah Sadmake, who was the key target of the Naxalites. He was reportedly travelling in the first vehicle of the convoy which escaped the blast. Reports have it that a civilian was moving on a bicycle along the place where the landmine was planted due to which the Naxals delayed the blast which, in turn, saved the first two police vehicles.

The blast was so powerful that it blew the police van several metres away and turned it into a mingled mass of metal. Seven commandos, identified as constables Sunil Madavi, Rohan Dambhare, Subhash Kumre, Duryodhan Nagtode, Tirupati Allam, Nayak police constable Deepak Vighave and driver Laxman Munde were killed on the spot. Two other police jawans, Pankaj Sidam and Hemant Bansod, were critically injured in the blast.

"It was a pre-planned blast triggered with the help of an improvised explosive device (IED). We suspect that only a couple of Naxals executed the task and fled the scene," said Ravindra Kadam, IGP, Nagpur range. It is apparent that the rebels intended only to carry out the blast as they fired no bullet at the blown vehicle after the incident. Cops later recovered several metres long wire and IED from the spot used for triggering the blast during search operations.

While the injured jawans were airlifted to Nagpur for treatment, additional reinforcement was pressed into the area. Senior police officials, including Kadam, rushed to the spot after the incident. "Condition of one of the two injured jawans remains critical, while the other is out of danger," said Kadam. Bodies of the martyred jawans were brought to Gadchiroli Civil Hospital for postmortem later in the afternoon.