In yet another incident of civilian casualties caused by the Left Wing Extremist, a 50 yr old innocent man was killed after he accidentally stepped over an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) planted by the Maoist in Luiya village of Maoist-affected West Singhbhum of Jharkhand on May 25.
The fateful incident occurred when a local villager identified as Kande Laaguri, a resident of Luiya village, had gone to the nearby forest area, which falls under Tonto police station limits, to pluck tendu patta leaves when he accidentally stepped over an IED triggering a strong explosion in which he got killed. It’s been reported that the blast was so powerful that it also caused damage to the surroundings alongside injuring the deceased wife, who was also accompanying him at the time of the incident.
Learning about the incident from the locals, a police team was immediately dispatched to the location who, later recovered the body of the deceased and sent it for postmortem. It’s been learnt that the incident sparked massive outrage among the locals given the fact that the deceased was a simple, hardworking man with an ordinary daily life.
Speaking with the Organiser, Upendra Kumar, Sub-Inspector Tonto PS, while confirming the incident, said that after learning about the incident, a police team was immediately sent to the location and later recovered the body. He further stated that the region’s extremist activities have slightly increased since the authorities have opened up police pickets in Luiya and Rengara.
Let us recall that a number of citizens have lost their lives in the region lately due to IEDs planted by the Ultras to cause harm to the searching parties of the security forces. Recently in a similar incident, a 14-year-old kid identified as Naara Koda (14), a resident of Banglasai tola of Rengrahatu who had gone to the nearby forest to pluck tendu patta leaves was also got killed when he accidentally stepped over the IED planted by the Maoist on May 18.
Earlier, in a similar incident in April, an elderly man identified as Jaina Koda, a resident of Regrahattu, was killed in a similar blast triggered by the Maoist in the Regarhattu region under Tonto police station limits. It was learnt that the blast occurred when Koda, along with his son, had gone to the nearby forest area to collect forest produce.
In another similar kind of incident, a 60-year-old woman was also killed in an IED blast triggered by the Maoist in the forest of Jamargadha under Goilakora police station limits of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand on April 28.
It should be noted that the security forces have launched a massive anti-naxal operation in the erstwhile Maoist-dominated Kolhan region of the district since January, though once considered to be a Maoist hotbed, the region is reported to be covered with the IEDs planted by the Maoist, it’s been reported that at least seven people including civilians have so far lost their lives while a dozen have been injured. In different incidents of IEDs explosions since the launch of the major counter-insurgency offensive in the region.
Let us tell you that the Maoist has frequently used pressure IEDs to harm the search operation parties in the Maoist-affected forest regions, which on a number of times led to the death of security personnel as well as the locals visiting the forest to collect forest produce.
