100 kg explosives used in Malkangiri blast

“It could be RDX. It could be ammonium nitrate. It could even be gelatine. We are not sure about the composition of the explosive device but we are concerned about the huge amount of explosives. In the Army they don’t use more than six to seven kg of explosives,” he said.

Kumawat said the police had collected samples from the blast site and these have sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory for tests.

The blast was so potent that it flung the Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV) 40 feet up in the air and left a massive crater on the ground. “Normally the rebels don’t use so much of explosives in a single blast. But if 100 kg of explosives was used, then MPVs are useless as these vehicles can at best withstand blasts from 15 to 20 kg explosives. In the 2005 landmine blast in Chhattisgarh, the Maoists had planted 35 to 40 kg of explosive that killed 24 policemen traveling in an MPV,” said Ajai Sahni of Delhi’s Institute for Conflict Management.

Sources said the lower portion of the anti-landmine vehicle is designed in a triangular shape, which prevents the splinters from flying in different directions but the force of the Malkangiri blast was so powerful that it killed the 17 people inside the vehicle on the spot. The vehicle was also badly damaged.

“Incidentally, none of the 17 security personnel inside the vehicle were wearing helmets and had not strapped themselves with the seat belts as is mandatory while traveling in MPVs,” sources said.

However, police officials argued that in this case, wearing a helmet would have been of no use. “The impact of the blast was too much for anyone to survive,” said Satish Gajibhaye, superintendent of police of Malkangiri district. The nine policemen who were following the MPV on motorcycles survived the blast.

State police officials indicated that they would not use MPVs, which cost Rs 50 lakh each, during combing operations in the future. “We would certainly inquire how an MPV fell to the landmine blast,” said Orissa director general of police GC Nanda. The police top brass are apprehensive as it is the second time in three years that an MPV was ripped apart by a landmine blast.