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On Sept. 9 five
jawans of the CRPF were killed and 10 others injured in a landmine blast in East
Godavari district (AOB region). Amongst the injured were two Circle Inspectors
and one Sub-Inspector of police. The private van, carring 20 police personnel
was fully destroyed. The ambush was a result of a decoy planned by the PGA
guerrillas of the PW. An RTC bus was hijacked earlier in the day. The passangers
were asked to alight and the conductor and driver were also let off, who
informed the police. The CRPF party was sent to help the local police in
retriving the hijacked bus. It was then that they were ambushed.
Three weeks earlier,
the first major action of its kind took place in Guntur district. It took place
in a region bordering the Nallaamalla forests on Aug.21. The Hindu reported that
a jeep carrying a police party was blown to pieces by the South Telengana PGA
fighters of the CPI(ML)(PW). Ten policemen were killed including a SI of police
and two were critically injured. The police force had not taken the official
jeep, fearing identification by the guerrillas. But due to the deep mass base of
the Party, even the private jeep was easily identified by the PW. The explosives
comprised four buckets of 5Kg each, which was connected to a 300-meter wire and
ignited by a camera flash. So panic-stricken were the rulers that the Chief
Minister himself, together with the Home Minister, the DG of police, Dora, and
the IG of police (Intelligence), flew to the spot in a helicopter. The blast was
so powerful, that it created a huge crater of 4 meters diameter and 2 meters
depth.
Ten days earlier, in
a simultaneous operation on two police stations, in Orissa {in the
Anddhra-Orissa Border (AOB) Region} the PGA guerrillas were able to seize a huge
cache of arms. According to the Telugu paper Varta, 150 guerrillas virtually
demolished the Police Station at Kalimela, after killing the SI and two other
policemen. The rest surrendered and handed over their weapons. The newspaper
reported that 40 weapons were seized, including AK-47s, SLRs, one LMG, rifles, a
pistol, hand grenades and also a tear-gas gun, together with communication
equipment.
The other action at
the Motu police station was not successful; and in the battle that went on for a
few hours, two policemen were killed and two comrades were martyred, including
DCM Com. Kranti Ranadive. Though details are yet to be received the newspapers
have reported that four police stations in the region (at Kalimela, Motu,
Malkangiri, and Diya) have been vacated.
Then again in end
July, guerrillas of the North Telangana PGA launched a massive attack on the
well-fortified PS at Eturnagram in Warangal district. The Hindu reported that
the PGA fighters "launched heavy shelling on the station with what looked
like canon balls. Heavy stones of the shape and size of metal balls used in
shot-put events of athletes were used in the attack. The shelling was such that
it shook the earth and caused gaping holes in the walls of the station". Two
head constables were killed and another was electrocuted by their own fencing
while attempting to flee.
The Hindu further
reported that "it all happened in a jiffy around 6.40a.m. when a tractor
loaded with explosives stopped in front of a temple located at the entrance of
the PS. The tractor blew up with a heavy sound sending the station personnel and
their families living in quarters in the station complex into a state of shock".
Within a minute a second tractor reached the station by the wall on its side and
a similar explosion caused extensive damage to the wall. A gun battle then took
place, in which the three policemen were killed.
Prior to this,
between May and July there were three more actions. On May 6, in the
Vishakapatnam region, one constable was killed and three injured; on June 9, in
Ranga Reddy district one SI and one constable were killed; on July 8, in
Ananatapur district one policeman and a forest guard were killed and 8 policemen
were injured.
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