Gadchiroli blasts: Naxals upset with voter turnout, say local leaders

(From left) Minister of State (Home) Deepak Kesarkar, MP Ashok Nete and Congress leader Dr Namdeo Usendi. File pics

Gadchiroli: With no intelligence input, the IED blast in Gadchiroli on Maharashtra Day might be the naxals' response to a high voter turnout in the district despite their call for boycotting elections, local leaders told mid-day. A high-level committee including the Minister of State (Home) was to visit the DRDO centre in Gadchiroli to buy new gadgets for the anti-naxal operations here.

"We were to enhance our forces with the latest technological assistance and had thus planned a visit to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to check new gadgets and procure them for our forces. We had already discussed this last week in a high-level meeting," said MoS (Home) Deepak Keserkar. "We are determined to uproot the naxal moment from Maharashtra and won't let go the sacrifice of our brave Quick Response Team (QRT) jawans go in vain," he added.

Keserkar said that there was no intelligence report regarding any such attack. "Whenever the department gets any such alert, we are kept in the loop but there was no such intimation this time," he said, adding, "All the 15 QRT team members were on a discreet surveillance mission at the time of the incident and thus instead of regular police/paramilitary vehicles (which are easy targets), they were in a private vehicle. The naxals probably had this information well in advance and planned their act accordingly."

Keserkar said, "We are all geared up to give a fitting reply to the naxals. I am likely to reach Gadchiroli on Thursday. Our hearts go out to the family of these brave men who were our trained warriors."

MP Ashok Nete from Gadchiroli told mid-day that the naxal operators and their sympathisers knew of the QRT team attached to Kurkheda police station heading to Durgud village, 12 km away from the site of the blast that was enabled using a remote device. "It would not have been possible without a tip-off from a naxal sympathiser," he insisted. "This attack is also to express anguish over the large public turnout (over 71 per cent) for Lok Sabha elections," added Nete who was elected as an MP in 2014. Sharad Shelar, Inspector General of Police (Gadchiroli) said, "We are in the process of carrying our extensive combing and post-incident operations, and directives have been given to the police and special forces to do the needful."

Also Read: Gadchiroli blasts: Naxals upset with voter turnout, say local leaders

Cong candidate's narrow escape

Dr Namdeo Usendi, Congress candidate from Gadchiroli, claimed that he had passed across the same road two hours before the blast took place and suspected nothing unusual. "It is an isolated stretch with deep forests on either side of the road. The spot where the blast happened had not witnessed any naxal attacks before and therefore was presumed to be relatively safe during day time," he said.

Also Read: Gadchiroli blasts: Maoist chief Basavaraju stamps his name in blood

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