A 30-year-old man from Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh was killed and another critically injured as a SUV carrying them and 10 others from Rajnandgaon of Chhattisgarh was blown up with an IED by Maoists in Ghotia area of Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.
Dhan Singh, son of Sildar Singh of Bhagatwahi in Balaghat, died at Gidam hospital in Dantewada where all the injured were shifted. Roop Lal, 25, also of Bhagatwahi is in critical condition, Dantewada superintendent of police Abhishek Pallav told THE WEEK.
The deceased and the injured were all construction labourers who were being taken to their work site in Telangana. Of the injured, six had only minor injuries requiring first aid, while four others are undergoing treatment in the hospital but are out of danger, Pallav said.
Though the Ghotia area falls under the Malevahi police station area of Bastar district, the operational control of the area is with the Dantewada police due to access reasons, Pallav said. The incident occurred around 7.30am on Thursday between Malevahi and Bodli police camps.
The SP said that this was the first incident a civilian vehicle being targeted in the area and is an indication of growing desperation of the Maoists. He said that the Maoists could not execute any big incident during the martyrs week (shahidi saptah) between July 26 and August 3.
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Pallav also said that the aim of the Maoists in targeting civilian vehicles was to discourage local residents from using vehicles to commute in the area, so that targeting police and government vehicles gets easier.
Sources said that a command IED (remote-operated improvised explosive device) was used for the blast. Road construction work was going on in the area, and the Maoists had planted the IED in this under-construction stretch of road. The blast was triggered as soon as the SUV reached the spot, badly damaging the vehicle.
A police team led by Pallav reached the area and combing operations were being carried out.