Dumka, Jharkhand: The Jharkhand police have admitted to "mistakes" after three polling officials and five policemen were killed on Thursday evening when the bus they were traveling in hit a landmine allegedly planted by the Maoists in the Dumka district.
A dozen more policemen were injured in the blast, which took place when the team was returning after the days polling. Dumka was among the four parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand which voted yesterday in the sixth round of the staggered national election.
"We were well prepared for the first phase but it seems in the third phase, we made mistakes," said Rajeev Kumar, a top police officer.
Mr Kumar said traveling by bus on such a sensitive route was wrong. The team, he said, should have been on foot. "We will analyse and fix responsibility," he told NDTV.
Questions have been raised about why the polling team was not ferried by choppers in an area known for Maoist violence, and why bridges they would use were not combed for bombs earlier.
Reports say voting will take place again at one polling booth after electronic voting machines were destroyed.
This is the second deadly attack by suspected Maoists since the nine-phase national election began earlier this month. On April 12, as many as 13 people, including poll officials and jawans, were killed in two Maoist strikes in Chhattisgarh.
The first attack took place in the Darbha Valley in Sukma district. Five jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed and six others were injured when Maoists allegedly blew up an ambulance. A technician who was seriously hurt in the attack, died the next morning.
Less than an hour later, and 160 km away in Bijapur, Maoists blew up a bus in which the poll officials were returning. Five poll officials, the bus driver and its cleaner were killed while three others were injured.
A dozen more policemen were injured in the blast, which took place when the team was returning after the days polling. Dumka was among the four parliamentary constituencies in Jharkhand which voted yesterday in the sixth round of the staggered national election.
"We were well prepared for the first phase but it seems in the third phase, we made mistakes," said Rajeev Kumar, a top police officer.
Questions have been raised about why the polling team was not ferried by choppers in an area known for Maoist violence, and why bridges they would use were not combed for bombs earlier.
Advertisement
This is the second deadly attack by suspected Maoists since the nine-phase national election began earlier this month. On April 12, as many as 13 people, including poll officials and jawans, were killed in two Maoist strikes in Chhattisgarh.
Advertisement
Less than an hour later, and 160 km away in Bijapur, Maoists blew up a bus in which the poll officials were returning. Five poll officials, the bus driver and its cleaner were killed while three others were injured.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
"Follow The Rules": Jay Shah's Blunt Message To Ishan Kishan For India Comeback 8 Of Family Hospitalised After Consuming Wild Mushroom In Jharkhand: Cops 3-Year-Old Student Raped By School Van Driver, 30, In Jharkhand: Police Life On Earth Originates From One Ancestor, Older Than Previously Believed Omar Abdullah On What Should Be J&K Assembly's 1st Move After Polls Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah To Be Prosecuted In Land Scam Case TasteAtlas Shares Top 10 Best And Worst American Foods, Internet Disagrees Telangana Man Dies In US, Family Asks Government To Help Bring Back Body JAM 2025: All You Need To Know About Joint Admission Test For Masters Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.