After journalist, cowherd boy killed in landmines explosion triggered by Maoists

By Sukant Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 9: A youth was Wednesday killed when a landmine, suspected to have been planted by the banned CPI (Maoist) activists, went off near Sadingia- Kiamunda under Phiringia police limits in Odisha’s Kandhamal district.

The incident reportedly took place early in the morning, the local Phiringia police said.  The deceased was identified as Priyaranjan Kanhar, resident of Kiamunda.

The mishap occurred when the 20-year-old youth, while herding cattle to grazing ground, mistakenly stepped into a small pit where the rebels had planted the explosive device.

 The ultras had on Tuesday put up a banner and torched two earthmovers machines engaged in construction works near the blast site. Apart from opposing developmental works in the region, the red rebels had warned people in the banner to boycott the forthcoming gram panchayat polls in the state.

The police seized the body of the deceased and sent it for post-mortem. A search operation was launched in the area to nab the ultras.

Earlier on February 5, a journalist named Rohit was killed in an explosion near Karlakhunta bridge at Mohangiri area of Naxal-hit Kalahandi district.

Rohit, a resident of Madanpur-Rampur area worked as a reporter for a local Odia newspaper. On the fateful day, he was covering news about the left wing extremists’ warning to locals through posters and banners to boycott the forthcoming rural polls when the incident occurred.

Condolences poured in from all quarters over the tragic incident. People and political leaders cutting across party lines strongly condemned the Maoist violence.

Later, the Odisha government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 13 lakh to the next of kin of the journalist.

Of late, the Maoist rebels have shifted their activities to Kandhamal, Boudh and Kalahandi district in central and centra-western parts of Odisha after they were hounded in the south by the Border Security Force and state police. Led mostly by Chhattisgarh leaders, the ultras have been targeting ‘police informers’ and contractors who dare to defy their diktat not to cooperate with the local administrations. There have been sporadic tussles between the security personnel and the rebels, causing damage to both sides.