By IANS,
Raipur : The country should be prepared for more deadly blasts by Maoists as the guerrillas are planning to use some 19 tonnes of explosives before they expire by the end of this year, a senior de-mining expert of the Chhattisgarh Police claimed Monday.
In February 2006, Maoists had stormed into an explosives depot of public enterprise NMDC Ltd. at Bailadila hills in Dantewada district and walked away with 20 tonnes of high-powered explosives after killing eight Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, guarding the stock meant to blast rocks for mining iron ore.
“We have definite information that guerrillas have used nearly one tonne of the NMDC explosives loot so far and they are in a hurry to use the remaining 19 tonnes before they expire by the fag end of 2010,” the expert told IANS requesting anonymity.
The officer advised that policemen and paramilitary troopers deployed in the Maoist strongholds in states hit-by leftist insurgency must carry sufficient number of de-mining experts as well as sniffer dogs while going on combing operations, particularly in jungles and hilly stretches.
A de-mining expert clears the stretches of landmines.
The officer, who is based in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region — the nerve-centre of Maoist militancy, claimed that NMDC explosives were used by Maoists for all major attacks in recent months, including the attack by rebels April 6 in Dantewada district in which 76 security personnel were killed.