No kids, eerie silence: Red flags missed before Naxalite attack in Dantewada that killed 10 jawans, driver | India News
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The driver, who shot a spine-chilling video of the immediate aftermath of 50kg of explosives going up under a vehicle, recalled that when the convoy was on its way from Dantewada to Aranpur to pick up the jawans, they had seen several makeshift barriers on the road where children were collecting donations for a local festival. But on the way back about 90 minutes later, the road was deserted. The kids had vanished.
Even in the Burkapal massacre of April 2021, villages on the CRPF jawans’ route had emptied out when they were returning, and there was an eerie silence before the Maoists engaged the forces with assault rifles.
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Also, once the Maoist lookouts saw the empty vehicles heading out, they would have known the convoy would be bringing back jawans in a while. Using the same route to return ended up having tragic consequences.
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“I was driving the second vehicle in the convoy. Life and death was a matter of a few seconds. I slowed down a little to have gutka, and the vehicle behind us overtook mine. It had gone around 150 metres ahead when a terrible blast took it out. We were jolted by the shock,” he said.
“For a few seconds, everything was covered in smoke and dust. We could hear gunshots. I was trembling, thinking it could have been my vehicle had I not slowed down,” said the eyewitness, who knew slain driver Dhaniram closely.
The eyewitness crawled under his Scorpio to take cover from the gunfire. He saw eight District Reserve Guards (DRG) men in his vehicle jump out, sprint through the gunfire and take position to mount a counterattack as the Maoists fired volleys at the convoy and at the dying men.
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The video shot by the driver shows DRG men shouting fire-and-manoeuvre directions to each other to “surround the Maoists”. “Pura ud gaya (it’s blown to pieces),” says one, referring to the vehicle that was smashed to smithereens as gunshots erupt. The driver breaths heavily in panic. A cop asks him to escape: “Niklo, niklo.”
‘I don’t know whether to feel happy that I survived’
He survived but trembles still at the thought. “I cannot forget what I saw for the rest of my life. The vehicle that overtook mine was in pieces. I saw bodies flying up and being torn apart. What fell on the road were only pieces. I couldn’t spot any Maoist near-by, but the firing went on for about 15 minutes.”
When everything fell silent, it was decided to head back to Aranpur. The driver said his hands were shaking when he climbed to the seat and held the steering wheel.
“The explosion was heard far away. I realised this when I stopped two other vehicles going towards the blast site to warn them, and they said they were aware of the attack. The reinforcements of DRG and CRPF were moving on foot,” he said.
“I don’t know whether to feel happy that I survived. So many lives were lost. I feel numb,” the driver said.
Eight of the slain DRG men were natives of Dantewada, and one each from Sukma and Bijapur.
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