The two landmine blasts in Jharkhand which killed 18 police personnel could have been avoided had the teams stuck to standard operational procedure, investigations have revealed.

Investigations by SP (West Singhbhum) Sudhir Kumar Jha into the blast along the Goelkira-Serengda road in West Singhbhum district on June 10 which killed 10 policemen show that the police team led by Sub-Inspector Dhananjay Yadav ignored many guidelines for patrolling in Naxalite infested areas.

For one, ignoring the directive to walk, they team used a SUV, which ran over a landmine planted on a culvert. They also returned from the search operation by the same route, something all patrol parties are asked to avoid. Moreover, the anti-landmine vehicle accompanying the operation was behind the SUV and not ahead of it as required. No attempt was made to check if the area was free of landmines. “Despite SI Yadav’s instruction to move on foot, his team members chose to board the SUV,” said Jha.

The blast in Bokaro district the very next day, which blew up an anti-landmine vehicle at Sarubeda killing eight Special Auxiliary Force (SAF) personnel, was no different. All deaths were caused by brain haemorrage according to the postmortem reports. While, as per SAF rules, all personnel on anti-landmine vehicles have to wear belts and helmets, no one was wearing one at the time of the blast. “Under the impact of the blast, the vehicle went up in the air and rolled over. In the process, the SAF personnel received head injuries,” said driver Jubrail Ansari, who survived the blast.

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