Some passengers were blown in to pieces, and some were thrown off the vehicle, said Special Police Officer (SPO), Vatti, who was travelling in the bus when the explosion took place, leaving 35 dead.
As Naxals killed with impunity innocent bus passengers in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, a few brave policemen risked their lives to drive the injured to nearby hospitals while taking on the outlaws at other end.
When the blast occurred, the bus was tossed in the air and its rear end was completely damaged. Some passengers were blown in to pieces, and some were thrown off the vehicle, said Special Police Officer (SPO), Vatti, who was travelling in the bus when the explosion took place, leaving 35 dead.
"I was lying there when four AK-47 wielding gunmen started firing. At this moment some other SPOs armed with INSAS rifles came over there. We retaliated and forced them to retreat. I was drenched with blood and felt that my end is near," said Vatti, now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sukama.
Inspector general RK Vij said had the SPOs not retaliated, the casualties would have risen and the Naxals would also have looted police weapons.
Many injured SPOs, carrying automatic rifles, battled the outlaws. Help came in the form of some more SPOs and jawans, who arrived in a vehicle, and encircled the injured ensuring that the Naxals could cause no further damage, Vij said.
"As Naxals fled, an SPO present there stopped a jeep and asked the driver to take the injured to nearby hospitals in Sukama. Scared, the driver didn't agree...he then himself drove the vehicle, thus saving many lives," Vij said.
The SPOs had boarded the bus, which left Dantewada at around 2pm, at Gadiras village and some of them sat atop the vehicle's roof due to passenger rush and sweltering heat.
The private commercial bus ferrying passengers from Dantewada to Sukma was blown up between Gadiras and Bhusaras near Chingavaram village, about 450km from here with the Naxals detonating Improvised Explosive Device with gelatin sticks planted on the metalled road on May 16.
The bus was targeted at 4.45pm after the Naxals got to know through their intelligence network that SPOs were on the bus.
According to police officials, when Salwa Judum movement started in 2005, many Naxals and their supporters surrendered and also helped the police in their anti-maoist operation.
Vij said there are currently 4,000 SPOs in the state, who are assisting CRPF jawans and paramilitary forces to flush out Naxals.
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