Almost a month after the Sukma attack in which 12 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were allegedly killed by Maoists, a senior official in the Home Ministry said more sniffer dogs could have helped detect the landmines in time.
K. Vijay Kumar, senior security adviser on Left Wing Extremism in the Home Ministry told The Hindu that the CRPF company, which was attacked on March 11, only had one dog, which was tired and was deployed on another route nearby.
Mr. Vijay Kumar said it was difficult to speculate on whether the presence of more dogs could have averted the attack as the situation is complex.
“The CRPF team, which was attacked, was on its way to secure an under-construction road which connects a local market ( haat ) that has reopened after two years. The area is not completely won over. Having gone there and seen the site of attack, there were two teams — one near the road and one deep inside. The second one was attacked and I have been propagating this theory that more canines always help. The company (roughly 100 men) had only one dog with it, which was probably tired [after] patrolling. It was an undulating terrain and the canine element would have added certain depth to our ability to dominate the area,” he said.
Mr. Vijay Kumar, who visited Sukma after the incident, has sent a detailed report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
The CRPF personnel were killed when they “walked into an ambush,” laid by the Maoists.
The troops first came under heavy fire and when they moved to take defensive positions, they tripped on IEDs, which led to serial explosions. “The entire area was rigged with mines and IEDs and when the troops took cover to retaliate against the firing by Maoists, they started exploding,” an official said.
A 2-km road from Bheji to Kokacherru in Sukma was under construction and the CRPF team had gone to provide protection to the construction team. The Maoists took away 13 weapons and two wireless sets.
The attack against the central forces was one of the biggest in the past two years. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has claimed credit for reducing Maoist-related violence by about 40-50%.
