Maoists guerrillas blow up bus in Chhattisgarh
May 17th, 2010 - 8:39 pm ICT by IANS
Raipur, May 17 (IANS) Maoist guerrillas blew up a bus in a forested stretch of Chhattisgarh Monday, killing 20-30 civilians and special police officers (SPOs), police sources and locals said.The bus was ripped apart by a powerful landmine as it made its way on the Dantewada-Sukma Road in Dantewada district, about 450 km south of Raipur, locals who rushed to the site told IANS.
“The bus has been completely destroyed. There is a 10-feet deep crater,” one of the locals told IANS. “We can see 20 to 30 bodies. They are lying all around the site.”
But Chhattisgarh Special Director General of Police Vijay Raman told NDTV news channel that up to 50 people had been killed in the deadly attack.
The dead included civilians and SPOs drawn from the local community, police source said.
It was the worst attack blamed on Maoist guerrillas since 76 security personnel were slaughtered, also in Dantewada district, April 6. All but one then were from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
In New Delhi, U.K. Bansal, Special Secretary for Internal Security in the home ministry, told Times Now channel that casualtiies “can be pretty heavy” in Monday’s strike.
He said the people in the bus were “partly civilians and partly SPOs. It’s extremely unfortunate, a dastardly attack”.
“The Naxalites (Maoists) are now taking on innocent civilians,” Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar said.
The latest attack prompted a meeting between Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
- Maoists blow up bus in Chhattisgarh, 35 dead (Second Lead) - May 17, 2010
- 498 killed in Maoist violence since March 2010: Chhattisgarh - Mar 28, 2012
- Day after massacre, terror stalks Chhattisgarh (Second Lead) - May 18, 2010
- Maoists blow up bus in Chhattisgarh, many dead - May 17, 2010
- Rethink of anti-Maoist strategy needed: Raman Singh (Lead) - May 18, 2010
- Maoists abduct Chhattisgarh collector, kill two guards (Third Lead) - Apr 21, 2012
- Maoists abduct Chhattisgarh collector, kill two guards (Fourth Lead, With Image) - Apr 21, 2012
- Maoists blast civilian bus in Chhattisgarh, 35 dead (Roundup) - May 18, 2010
- Supreme Court order will hit anti-Maoist drive: Chhattisgarh officers - Jul 05, 2011
- Three Maoists involved in Dantewada massacre killed - Aug 11, 2010
- Maoist attack in Dantewada could have been deadlier: Pillai (To go with main Pillai interview) - May 21, 2010
- 10 Chhattisgarh cops killed in Maoist attack (Second Lead) - Jun 10, 2011
- Essar channelised money to Maoists: Chhattisgarh - Dec 16, 2011
- Two deadly attacks in Chhatttisgarh, 15 cops killed (Third Lead) - Jun 10, 2011
- Body parts still lie at Maoist blast site - May 21, 2010
Tags: chhattisgarh, community police, crpf, dastardly attack, deep crater, home minister, home ministry, innocent civilians, kanwar, manmohan singh, maoist guerrillas, naxalites, ndtv, p chidambaram, police source, police sources, prime minister manmohan, prime minister manmohan singh, reserve police, special police officers