The Telangana police on Monday unearthed and defused two powerful landmines allegedly planted by Maoists in Telangana’s Bhupalpally district.
Speaking to PTI, Additional Superintendent of Police (Eturnagaram) Rahul Hegde said that a police team spotted a wire on the roadside between Abbaigudem and Aluvaka villages at around 4.30 am
The police immediately alerted the bomb disposal squad, which rushed to the spot, and found nearly 25 kg of explosives along with detonators.
“They were powerful landmines which could have blown up a bus, if detonated,” the police official told PTI.
"There are a lot of Shandies in Allubaka where people from nearby villages and Chattisgarh visit on a regular basis. Even the Maoists visit the area to collect their rations. Hence, the police regularly keep track of activities in the area. Since many politicians and police pass through this route, the mines were planted to target them," the ASP was quoted as saying.
A case was registered under relevant sections of the Explosives Act.
This is not the first case of landmines being planted by Maoists, that is surfacing form Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
In May this year, a Home Guard died in the Visakhapatnam Agency area after Maoists allegedly triggered a landmine near the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB).
The landmine was remotely triggered when the Home Guard was driving near a tribal hamlet in Ramaraopalem, which comes under the Annavaram police station limits.
In December last year, A bomb disposal squad from the Visakhapatnam rural police voluntarily set off two landmines, which were planted by Maoists in the Agency area.
In a press release, Visakhapatnam SP Rahul Dev Sharma, said that each landmine, was kept three feet under the bitumen road, and packed with 20 kg of explosives. Since they could not be safely removed, the bomb disposal squad of the rural police set them off under controlled and safe conditions.
"There are a number of cases, where the Maoists have targeted police and caused threat to tribals by blasting the jeeps and vehicles. The Red rebels should drop such ideas and surrender," the SP was quoted as saying.