The men travelling in a private Mahindra mini truck were ambushed and killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast. Ignoring the protocol of sending an area domination unit to recce the road ahead — which is the usual practice — the QRT unit did not also wait for an anti-landmine vehicle to arrive before deciding to travel in a private vehicle. They were headed to Dadpur village where the naxals had the previous night torched 36 vehicles meant to assist the road construction work, eyewitnesses said. “This was nothing but hubris and a complete failure of intelligence since the men did not follow the basic protocol. “This has been in the works for a year and not incidental to any events of the recent past.

Source: The Hindu May 01, 2019 17:03 UTC