Jan 08, 2025 08:47 AM IST
Nearly 50% of IEDs seized by all forces across the state was from Bijapur district alone in 2024, according to police data accessed by HT.
The high intensity IED (improvised explosive device) used by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday, in which eight police personnel and a civilian driver were killed, was likely planted at least a month before the incident, officials aware of the matter said, adding that Bijapur continues to be a hot spot for Left-wing extremism (LWE), with IEDs planted by the Maoists being recovered frequently.
“The IED used on Monday must have been planted more than a month ago. The road where explosives were placed had a thick overgrowth of grass and other plants. The wires recovered from the spot appeared to be weeks old. The Maoists planted the IED and just needed to detonate it when they decided to attack. Bijapur district must be having hundreds of such IEDs planted by the Maoist groups,” a senior police officer aware of the matter said on condition of anonymity.
Nearly 50% of IEDs seized by all forces across the state was from Bijapur district alone in 2024, according to police data accessed by HT. Of the total of 260 IEDs recovered in 2024, at least 105 were found in Bijapur, followed by 80 in Sukma. The IEDs recovered weigh between 1kg and 30kg. Security officials suspect the IED used in Monday’s attack could have weighed 20-30 kg.
LWE violence in Chhattisgarh is reported from the seven districts within the Bastar range — Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Kanker, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, and Sukma. Bastar and Kondagaon districts have been declared as LWE-free by the state government.
Senior officials in the central armed police forces posted in Chhattisgarh said that while there has been a surge in anti-Maoist operations, the challenge of detecting IEDs in Sukma and Bijapur, and especially the latter, remains. They added that Maoist cadres have fled deeper into the jungles of Abhujmaad, primarily in the Narayanpur district, but have left behind IEDs. These just need to be connected to a detonator when they receive intelligence about the movement of security forces, the officials said.
“It is unfortunate that there was no intelligence regarding the IED on the Kutru-Bedre road that killed the 9 men. This is a case of one failure. In fact, just four days ago, on January 1, security forces recovered 10 IEDs from two police stations of Bijapur . These IEDs were planted below a road but were not as the powerful as the one used by Maoists on Monday. These IEDs weighed around 1 kg and 3 kg,” a senior CRPF officer said, asking not to be named.
Officials aware of Monday’s attacks said the IED blast created a crater on the road that measured almost 8-10 feet deep. “The explosive used was powerful. The mangled door of the vehicle was flung almost 50 feet from the ground. A probe will reveal how Maoists knew about the route and the timing of the convoy returning from operations. Last month(December 10), an IED weighing over 10kg was recovered from Bijapur. Taking advantage of the weather conditions (there has been no road damage this season due to rain), Maoists have planted such explosives on the road,” the CRPF officer added.
“For us the challenge is tracing such explosives. For them the challenge is getting specific intelligence about the exact time when we drive on such roads.”
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