Personnel of the Anti-Naxal Squad (ANS) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday unearthed at least 10 booby traps allegedly laid by the Maoists in the Mallampeta forest cover on the Andhra Pradesh-Chhattisgarh border in Chintoor Agency. The spot where the traps were found shares a border with Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
This is said to be the biggest booby trap laid by the Maoists on the tri-State border of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh in recent years.
The ANS was led by Chintoor ASP G. Krishna Kanth and was on a combing operation on the State border.
“The booby trap is believed to be the traditional technique of Gutti Koya tribe of Chhattisgarh. A major tragedy has been averted with their detection,” said East Godavari Superintendent of Police M. Ravindranath Babu.
The Maoists had laid the booby traps by digging trenches, in which they reportedly planted sharp bamboo arrows and covered them with leaves. The security forces found a few hundred sharp bamboo arrows in the traps.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a press conference here, Eluru Range DIG K.V. Mohan Rao said the strategy of laying the booby trap was once rampant in Chhattisgarh. “We will design our new strategy to detect such traps in future,” Mr. Mohan Rao added.
