MP police hunts for mysterious informer

MP police hunts for mysterious informer
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NARAYANPUR (MP), FEB 22: Following Sunday's killing of 23 police personnel in a landmine blast, the Madhya Pradesh police is on the lookout for one Lakhmu who had tipped off a police informer that Naxalites had tied up his brother and mercilessly beaten up residents of Gotabenu village.

Lakhmu had passed this information on to Puran Singh, an informer. On hearing from the latter, a police team, led by Additional Superintendent of Police of Narayanpur Bhaskar Diwan, set out for Gotabenu. It was when they were on their way that their vehicle was blown off in the landmine blast engineered by Naxalites.

A member of the police team investigating the incident told PTI on Tuesday that Lakhmu had not been traced till now. Police said that Sunday's attack was the result of a well-planned strategy by Naxalites who had laid landmines on a 140 metre stretch of road near Bakulwadi Nullah 137 km from Jagdalpur on the Narayanpur-Kutul road.

According to Dr Suri Babu, a forensic expert with the police, the Naxalites appeared to have used the `wet ambush' technique to trigger off the explosion. The Naxalites had laid two landmines each weighing 12 kg over an area of 140 sq metres, Babu said adding that the blast led to the creation of a five metre long hole that was 1.5 metres deep.

Police officials conducting an inquiry into Sunday's blast said that 60 Naxalites could have been involved in the operation which was conducted jointly by commander Pandu of Abujhmaar dalam and commander Vinod of Kohkameta dalam of the People's War Group.

Villagers, who visited the blast site, told PTI that only the body of ASP Diwan was recognisable while those of the others had been completely dismembered by the blast. Budhram, a resident of Kochkadi village said that soon after the explosion, some people reached the site and escaped with arms belonging to the police personnel.

Meanwhile, George Kujur, a constable who had been hurt in the explosion, succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.