IED was likely planted a month before detonation

The high intensity IED (improvised explosive device) used by Maoists in an attack 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.

- Vikas Tiwari and Ritesh Mishra

NEW DELHI:

"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.