NIA takes over Gadchiroli blast probe

MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the May 1 naxal attack, in which 15 policemen and a civilian were killed in a blast in Gadchiroli district. An improvised explosive device was used to carry out the blast when the police team was travelling in a private vehicle to Kurkheda village to take stock of the situation after naxalites set on fire vehicles and machines.
A senior police officer said that last week, the ministry of home affairs asked the NIA to take over the case for a more detailed probe."Prima facie, it appears that naxal attacks are not limited only to one or two states...therefore the probe was entrusted to the NIA...It can examine similar attacks in other states and whether they are linked, the funding patterns and from where naxalites are procuring weapons," he said. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has approved the proposal.
The NIA is already investigating the murder of BJP legislator Bheema Mandavi and his four bodyguards on April 4 in Dantewada, near the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. Mandavi was shot dead allegedly by naxalites.