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JAGDALPUR: Alarm radiated through Bastar on Friday morning as two Sahastra Seema Bal (SSB) jawans were killed and two others injured in a landmine explosion triggered by the Maoists. This was the first ever explosion on NH 16, a highway leading to Dantewada.
Built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the 86 km stretch of smooth highway connecting Dantewada with Jagdalpur, Bastar's headquarters, is considered the safest and busiest road in the region's insurgency hit south.
On Friday morning, a convoy of 11 mini trucks carrying men and supplies of SSB's 41 battalion stationed in Dantewada left for Raipur. "Deployed since 2008 to secure government camps, SSB is currently being withdrawn from the district. This was the last contingent to leave," said Ankit Garg, superintendent of police, Dantewada.
As the convoy crossed the boundaries of Dantewada and entered Bastar district, near Pendra village, 60 kilometres short of Jagdalpur, an explosion hit the fourth truck. Four jawans were travelling in the front cabin. Two died and two others were rushed to Jagdalpur. The assorted boxes containing kitchen appliances, maps and boards, came apart, spilling their shattered content, twenty feet away from a crater in the road.
"The crater formed is five feet deep. On a road as strong as this, it means a very large quantity of explosives were planted," said Garg.
Asked how explosives could be planted under a well built highway, T J Longkumer, Bastar's inspector general, said most likely they had been planted by digging a hole from the side of the highway.
While the area is considered insurgency free, the police said three months ago, on July 4, fire had been exchanged with Maoists 10 kilometres from the spot, near Korangali village.
Maoist blast on NH 16, 2 dead - The Times of India
Built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the 86 km stretch of smooth highway connecting Dantewada with Jagdalpur, Bastar's headquarters, is considered the safest and busiest road in the region's insurgency hit south.
On Friday morning, a convoy of 11 mini trucks carrying men and supplies of SSB's 41 battalion stationed in Dantewada left for Raipur. "Deployed since 2008 to secure government camps, SSB is currently being withdrawn from the district. This was the last contingent to leave," said Ankit Garg, superintendent of police, Dantewada.
As the convoy crossed the boundaries of Dantewada and entered Bastar district, near Pendra village, 60 kilometres short of Jagdalpur, an explosion hit the fourth truck. Four jawans were travelling in the front cabin. Two died and two others were rushed to Jagdalpur. The assorted boxes containing kitchen appliances, maps and boards, came apart, spilling their shattered content, twenty feet away from a crater in the road.
"The crater formed is five feet deep. On a road as strong as this, it means a very large quantity of explosives were planted," said Garg.
Asked how explosives could be planted under a well built highway, T J Longkumer, Bastar's inspector general, said most likely they had been planted by digging a hole from the side of the highway.
While the area is considered insurgency free, the police said three months ago, on July 4, fire had been exchanged with Maoists 10 kilometres from the spot, near Korangali village.
Maoist blast on NH 16, 2 dead - The Times of India
