Chhattisgarh Attack: IED That Killed 10 DFG Personnel Was Planted 2 Months Ago, Says Police

The deadly explosion that killed DFG personnel and a driver in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada this week was planned at least two months ago and the explosive device was planted at the site at around the same time, ANI reported quoting Bastar Police.

According to the police, the Naxals used a ‘Foxhole Mechanism’ to plant the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). They installed the explosives on the road by digging a tunnel through to make it undetectable.

“De-mining is done on the said road from time to time. Prima-facie it appears that the IED was planted far below the road through ‘foxhole mechanism’ (a style of digging tunnel) due to which it could not be detected during the de-mining exercise,” ANI quoted police as saying.

The investigation also revealed that the grass was grown on the surface where the IED was planted to conceal the wire.

The police further added that IED was planted months back by digging a tunnel roadside while the wire attached to the device was also hidden 2-3 inches beneath the ground.

On April 26, 10 DRG personnel and a civilian driver were killed after in an IED blast on Aranpur road in Chhattisgarh.

As per the official statement, the jawans were returning to Dantewada during a search operation when Maoists targeted their vehicle on the Aranpur-Sameli route.

A police official on condition of anonymity said security personnel perceived a low threat on the route, as road construction on the axis has been completed up to Kamarguda, which is around 25 km away from Aranpur.

On the day of the attack, a village market was also held in Aranpur and the presence of militia members of Naxalites cannot be ruled out, he added.

(With inputs from ANI/PTI)

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