Southern States - Andhra Pradesh   

Many rural roads mined by naxals?

By Our Staff Reporter

GUNTUR OCT. 15. The naxalites of the People's War (PW) had apparently planned a major kill. Who could have been the target of the naxalites is anybody's guess, if the sequence of events that ended in the landmine blast of Monday in which three policemen, including the Piduguralla z V. Brahmaiah, were killed.

It was only providential that the Superintendent of Police, P.S.R. Anjaneyulu, who visited Vemavaram village soon after receiving the information about the mid-night swoop by the naxalites of Krishnapatti dalam, returned to the district headquarters safely.

The SP took all the necessary precautions to avoid any trouble. He used different modes of transport to reach Vemavaram. But for his meticulous precautions, things could have been worse. Incidentally, a couple of journalists also travelled to Vemavaram with Mr. Anjaneyulu.

The entire department was shaken by the deaths of Brahmaiah, his driver, Krishna Reddy and his gunman, Ravi Babu. As ill-luck would have it, the CI did not follow the instructions from the SP not to use police vehicles for travelling.

Brahmaiah must not have perceived any threat from the naxalites as he was never controversial, nor had he been on their hit list.

Besides, he had earned the reputation of being a reasonable officer. This could have been why he travelled without much caution.

Police suspect that many rural roads in the naxal-dominated areas may have already been mined. Mr. Anjaneyulu told The Hindu that it would not be a surprise if mines were found underneath many roads. The department would soon take up a road survey to sniff them out.

The SP said the mine could have been planted long ago, even before a blacktop road was laid between Vemavaram and Machavaram.

In fact, a metal road was laid over a year ago in this area. The lead wires that were connected to ignite the mines were drawn up to 400 metres off the road.

The way the wires and mines were embedded clearly indicated that they were planted while the road was being laid.

The explosion of a landmine near Yemmajigudem that claimed the life of a farmer of Perikapadu thanda in Krosur mandal "by mistake'' was lending credence to the theory that the mines could have been planted long ago.

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