The Gadchiroli police have named a top leader in the Communist Party of India (Maoist) as an accused in connection with the attack that claimed 16 lives on Wednesday . An Improvised Explosive Device was remotely detonated on the Kurkheda–Korchi road in north Gadchiroli, killing 15 Quick Response Team personnel and a civilian driver.
Police sources on Friday said that Bhaskar, who is the ‘North Commander’ of the CPI (Maoist), has been named in the FIR, along with 40 others. The accused have been booked for murder and conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), officials said.
“According to information available so far, Bhaskar has been active for the last 15 years. There is already a cash reward of ₹16 lakh for any information regarding his movements and whereabouts,” an officer, who is part of the investigation, said. The officer added that local intelligence inputs indicate that Bhaskar was behind the planning as well as the logistics of the attack.
On Friday, the Gadchiroli police conducted massive combing operations in the forest area in north as well as south Gadchiroli.
“This is the first such incident in north Gadchiroli in the last three years and it leads us to suspect that the Maoists might be trying to make a comeback” the officer said. The reasons behind this attempt are still being verified. Apart from Bhaskar, we also suspect the involvement of some other senior naxal commanders in this attack,” the officer said.
Inquiries so far indicate that an IED containing at least kilograms of explosive was used in the attack, and the remains of the IED are currently being examined by forensic experts. Meawhile, the village of Dadapur, where the attack is alleged to have originated, as well as nearby areas and the road where the attack occurred, continued to be shut on Friday, with banners lashing out at the current government being put up all over.
