SP survives mine blast triggered by Naxalites

The attack took place at 2:20 pm when Laddha was proceeding to his residence after attending a meeting at his office. While the occupants of the Tata Sumo escaped unhurt, the front portion of the vehicle was badly damaged under the impact of the blast, police said.

The identity of the two bodies found near the blast site was yet to be ascertained, District Collector Udayalakshmi said. Four passers-by, including an advocate Apparao who was going on a scooter, were injured in the blast, police said.

Laddha termed the attack as ‘unfortunate’ and said “god has saved me”. Police has cordoned off the area and stepped up the vigil.

This was a major assault by Naxalites after the collapse of peace talks in the wake of Maoist organisations pulling out of the dialogue process accusing the Congress government of continuing with ‘fake police encounters’. The backward Prakasam district, which was hitherto considered a safe zone, has been witnessing a spurt in Naxalite activities for several months now. There have been six cases of police encounters in the district, which is part of Nallamala forest range, since January last in the midst of hardening stand by Maoists and the state government.

The extremists have been facing the heat in the wake of intensified operations by the police in Nallamala forest region. In tune with its pre-poll promise of reviving dialogue with Naxalites, the Rajasekhar Reddy government had initiated the first-ever direct talks with Maoist groups in October last year. The peace initiative ran into rough weather with Naxalite organisations pulling out of the talks.