Just over a month after the Maoists gunned down 76 CRPF personnel in Chintalnar, the red extremists struck again, blowing up a bus carrying around 50 people, including 18 special police officers (SPO), around 4.15 pm on Monday near Sukma in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh. Only six persons—all seriously injured—are learnt to be alive, with the rest, including women and children, killed. Among those admitted to hospital are four civilians and two SPOs, said a senior police officer. The Naxalites triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) on a black-top road at Chingavaram between Dantewada and Sukma as the bus wound through a 40-km stretch of dense forest. The massive explosion, which left a 10-feet-deep crater, took place within two days of Maoist spokesman Azad issuing a statement congratulating the Maoist ‘army’ for “wiping out 80 CRPF mercenaries’’ and threatening more such attacks. Dantewada SP Amaresh Mishra and a few other police officers had a providential escape as they crossed the stretch about 10 minutes before the incident. Rescue operations were on till late in the evening with teams from Kirandul reaching the spot with gas-cutters and searchlights. “Bodies are lying trapped, these have to be extricated,’’ said a source in Dantewada. Chhattisgarh home minister Ram Vichar Netam said, “Our jawans were in the bus. It seems the bus was targeted because of the jawans, although the number of civilians inside it was higher.’’ It’s learnt there were around 32 civilians and 18 SPOs in the bus. The SPOs are tribals—belonging to Salwa Judum—who assist the police in fighting Maoists.
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