At least 15 security personnel and the driver of their vehicle were killed in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli on Wednesday in an IED blast triggered by Maoists on a vehicle carrying a team of C-60 commandos.
The blast took place at the Jambhulpada village in the Kurkheda block of Gadchiroli around 12:30 pm.
“Today our QRT (Quick Response Team) was moving in Kurkheda block of Gadchiroli to carry out an anti-Maoist operation on the intelligence of some Maoist movement in the area. Whey they were proceeding in the area (in a vehicle), all of a sudden a blast took place near Jambhulpada village.
Our 15 men and the driver of the vehicle are reported to be martyred,” Sharad Shelar, the inspector general of police, Gadchiroli range, told Huffpost India.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the “despicable attack” in Gadchiroli. “The perpetrators of such violence will not be spared,” he tweeted.
Home minister Rajnath Singh termed it an “act of cowardice and desperation” and said that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is in constant touch with the state administration