Maharashtra: NIA charges 12 with attack on Gadchiroli QRT

In the chargesheet, which numbers over 2,000 pages, the NIA has applied charges of murder and criminal conspiracy, among others, under the Indian Penal Code in addition to sections of the Explosive Substances Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The chargesheet says that the accused are members and supporters of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and they entered into a conspiracy to destabilise the government.

The chargesheet states that the motive behind the attack on 15 QRT personnel was to avenge the killing of 40 alleged naxals in March 2018 in Gadchiroli. The chargesheet states that the accused had hatched the conspiracy and planted an IED below the culvert (small bridge) on Kurkheda-Purada Road near Jambhulkheda and Lendhari village, Gadchiroli on the intervening night of April 28 and 29.

To carry out the attack, a team of Naxals set ablaze and damaged 27 vehicles of Amar Infrastructure Company, engaged in construction work, parked at village Dadapur, Gadchiroli in the night and early morning of May 1, the chargesheet states.

As the QRT reached the spot in a civil vehicle for investigation, four arrested accused along with other wanted accused who were present near the culvert on Kurkheda-Purada Road triggered the blast. It resulted in the death of 15 police personnel and one civilian on the spot. Afterwards, the Naxals looted weapons, ammunition, walkie-talkie sets and other material from the QRT and fled into the jungle.