Hyderabad: The outlawed Maoists cadre has intensified efforts to enter Telangana. Over the past few years, the Telangana police have taken strong measures to thwart their entry into the state.
However, taking advantage of the Assembly elections in which there was the complete concentration of the state police, the outlawed elements tried to enter Telangana in March and April, said highly-placed sources, adding that they had planted improvised explosive devices (IED) in Mulugu district.
Sources indicated the possibility of the cadre plating IEDs in eight different locations, specifically targetting security forces and combing teams. The Maoists might have targetted some political leaders, whose tough decisions created panic among the cadre, an official said.
"We have detected at least six IEDs and two IEDs were defused by the alert special bomb disposal (BD) teams in Mulugu forest area. In Mulugu, we found battery-equipped IEDs and all the six IEDs were live. The validity of any IEDs is for three months. Based on BD team inputs, it was revealed that these IEDs were planted between March and April. They were designed to blast when someone stepped on them," sources said.
“Suspecting that more IEDs might have been planted in the locality, we have intensified our efforts by using the latest technology, including drones. Our endeavour is to protect the people living in villages near the forest area in Mulugu," a senior officer said.
Box: Recent instances
June 5, 2024: A 55-year-old Yesu died on the spot after he stepped on an IED in a forest area in the Kongala locality of Mulugu.
March 30, 2024: A pet dog stepped on the IED and died after it exploded in Mulugu forest.
February 22, 2023: Police unearthed explosives (IEDs) planted in a beer bottle in the reserve forest near Pamunuru village of Venkatapuram mandal.
