Cowherd dies in landmine blast in Kandhamal forest, Maoist posters found at site

The landmine blast that killed the cowherd occurred five days after a journalist in Kalahandi was killed in a similar landmine explosion.

Updated on: Feb 9, 2022, 16:05:23 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

BHUBANESWAR: Five days after a journalist in Kalahandi was killed in a landmine explosion, a 20-year-old cowherd of Kandhamal district, who was out in the forest herding his flock of cattle, died in a similar explosion on Wednesday morning after he accidentally stepped on a pressure bomb planted by suspected Maoists, police said.

A 20-year-old cowherd was killed when he stepped on a pressure bomb while herding cows near Sadingia village. (Photo: Sourced)

Police officials said Priyaranjan Kanhar(20) of Kiamunda village under Phiringia police station was killed when he stepped on a pressure bomb near Sadingia village while herding cows. “The youth died instantly,” said a police official of the district. Incidentally, the rebels on Tuesday torched two JCB excavator machines engaged in road construction works at the same site opposing panchayat polls and civil construction.

After the JCB machines were torched on Tuesday, the bomb disposal squad defused two landmines in that area. However, the squad could not detect the one that went off today. Several red banners purportedly put up by Communist Party of India (Maoist) asking people to boycott panchayat polls have come up in the area as well as several parts of Kandhamal in the last few days ahead of the polls scheduled next week. The Maoist posters demanded withdrawal of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camps in the district and adequate payment of wages to labourers.

Red banners purportedly put up by CPI(Maoist) asking people to boycott panchayat polls have come up in several parts of Kandhamal in the last few days ahead of the polls scheduled next week. (Photo: Sourced)

Wednesday’s blast comes in the wake of a landmine explosion in Kalahandi district in which a 48-year-old journalist working for an Odia daily was killed when his motorbike went over a pressure bomb planted by Maoists.

Rohit Biswal, the journalist of Dharitri newspaper, was trying to take photos of posters put up by the red rebels warning people not to vote in the upcoming panchayat polls when his motorbike came over a pressure bomb on Kalahandi-Kandhamal border triggering an explosion. Biswal is the first journalist to be killed in Maoist violence in Odisha.

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

The area where the twin landmines took the lives of two in less than a week is the corridor of ‘KKBN division’ of the Maoists or Kalahandi-Kandhamal-Boudh-Nayagarh, the four district that form part of a longer corridor extending from Koraput in south to west in Chhatisgarh.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.