Naxals apologise for landmine blast in Maharashtra

Raipur, May 20 : The outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) has apologised for the death of 12 persons in a landmine blast at Kasansur in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on May 16.

''It was very unfortunate. We apologise to the masses for the incident in which innocents lost their lives,'' CPI (Maoist) Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee Secretary Kosa and spokesman Gudsa Usendi said in a statement.

The Maoist leaders said the target of the Peoples Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) -- the CPI(Maoist) 'military' wing -- was the Maharashtra Police who had recently neutralised three CPI(Maoist) members in an encounter.

Besides, the police had killed three villagers in a ''fake'' encounter in January, they alleged, and claimed that police commandos had gangraped and killed two women from Bandhur village last year.

The PLGA decided to target police personnel to avenge the increasing atrocities, they said, adding, ''Our cadres committed a grave mistake by blowing up the vehicle of a marriage party returning to Pakhanjur in Kanker district.'' ''Definitely, there has been negligence,'' Kosa said, adding that action was being taken against those responsible.

''We have set in motion a process to prevent recurrence of such incidents and to protect life and property of the masses during such action.'' The rebel duo said the killing of innocents had attracted widespread condemnation. ''We consider it constructive criticism,'' they added.

Twelve persons, including four women, died when ultras triggered the blast between Halewara and Petha near Kasansaur on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

UNI