RAIPUR: The state government is considering a proposal to declare Bastar district a troubled area it is reliably learnt. The necessary legal and constitutional processes to secure the declaration are understood to have been set in motion.
The administration is condoned over the failure of the intelligence agencies to uncover any cue to the landmine blast on June 4 by Naxalites in which 18 policemen were killed near Golapalli village in South Bastar district Ramanna the Naxalite leader and his gang are still at large.
The director-general of police Krishna Singh Rathore complained during his visit to Bastar that the technique employed in the Past was similar to that used by the LTTE and might create the impression that there was some connection between the Naxalites and the LTTE.
Last year on May 20 the Naxalites killed eight policemen in the Buda Donagar forest by exploding landmines Eight more were killed on July 16 at Lanji in Balaghat district and another eight on August 26 at Injaram village in Konta Tehsil The police did not have the equipment to detect the landmines.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 26, 1992
