PHULBANI: Maoists on Thursday lured a police team into a virtual deathtrap killing three near Padiapanga village in Kotagarh area of Kandhamal district. The police team was ambushed in a landmine explosion that left three other cops injured. The team was on way to the site of a blast triggered on Wednesday.The radicals have declared a two-day bandh in the State and are going all out to ensure their diktat is obeyed. On Thursday, the landmine went off when the team, with two trained dogs, was going in a Sumo vehicle on Kotagarh-Srirampur road. The bomb disposal squad personnel, who were following the team, escaped unhurt. The explosion took place barely three km from a CRPF camp. The deceased __ two police constables and a home guard __ were identified as Sunasir Mohanty, Umakant Jani and Sangram Lenka. The injured were Pandaba Dehury __ the home guard driver, Naha Pradhan and Basanta Behera. The three were rushed to the nearby health centre and then to Baliguda hospital before being airlifted to SCB Medical in a chopper. The condition of one of them was critical. ‘’It was a clear ambush by Red rebels. They had perhaps information about movement of police party to yesterday’s explosion site and laid a trap,” said a local police officer.Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced ex gratia for families of the three slain cops. Naveen also asked the forces to step up combing operations but wanted standard operating procedure (SOP) to be strictly followed.Police Constable-Sepoy Association alleged that the low-ranking personnel were rushed to Wednesday’s blast site in a vehicle without following the procedure laid down for anti-Maoist operation.Security personnel should reach the site of Naxal violence either on bike or foot. “In case of Kotagarh incident, they were sent to the blast site by a vehicle vulnerable to ambush by the rebels,” a police officer in Kandhamal district alleged.
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