The sequence of events that led to 11 deaths in a Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Wednesday can be traced back to April 18 when the convoy of a Congress MLA came under fire.
On April 18, Congress MLA Vikram Mandavi’s convoy came under attack from Naxals in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of the state. The attack failed to harm anyone as the assailant’s gun reportedly jammed and the driver of the MLA’s car managed to speed away from the scene.
According to an initial assessment by the central forces deployed in Dantewada, this incident set in motion events that culminated in what was the biggest strike by Naxals on security forces in Chhattisgarh in the last two years.
Ten personnel from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and a civilian driver were killed in Wednesday’s blast, carried out using an improvised explosive device containing an estimated 40kg of explosive material. The attack took place under Aranpur police station area between 1pm and 1:30pm.
8 Days Ago…
Following the failed attack on Bijapur MLA Mandavi, the District Reserve Guard launched an operation to neutralise armed Naxals that took them to the Aranpur side, sources said. The security personnel moved from their headquarters in Dantewada town to the Aranpur police station and left their vehicles parked at the station for two days.
The latest assessment has revealed that the DRG team managed to take into custody two Naxals during their operation and the arrested duo were with the personnel when they came under attack. The attackers were reportedly aware that the DRG team had left their vehicles at the Aranpur police station and would be heading straight there to retrieve them for their journey back to the headquarters in Dantewada town.
However, no road opening party – wherein troops are stationed on both sides of the road to secure sensitive convoys in terrorism or Naxal-affected areas — was set up for the DRG team.
Local Help to Naxals
Sources told News18 that the initial assessment has confirmed that the Naxals targeted the DRG commandos with the help of locals. Sources said the convoy’s first vehicle, which was carrying the arrested Naxals, was given a pass but the second vehicle was flagged down by some locals on the pretext of seeking donations for the Aamaa festival, officials said.
The IED blew up the van around 200 metres from where it was initially stopped by the locals.
After the Blast…
Sources also confirmed that the vehicles carrying the DRG commandos also had weapons, which the Naxals reportedly tried to loot after the blast. Their attempts, sources, said were thwarted when personnel in the other van opened fire. The surviving DRG team carried out evacuation and search operations, but the attackers managed to flee.
The attack unfolded in a pattern similar to the one in 2021 May when Naxals, using IEDs, attacked police personnel near Bukintor village between Kanhargaon and Kadenar. In the attack, five security forces personnel were killed and 13 were injured.
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