NEW DELHI — Police said Maoist rebels in India inserted a bomb inside the abdomen of an officer killed in a clash with the guerrillas, who are fighting for control of swathes of the country’s center and east.
Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde told reporters in New Delhi today that Maoists were using “new tactics.”
Police defused 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of explosives surgically inserted to booby-trap the body, Jharkhand Inspector General of Police S.N. Pradhan said. The policeman was among 10 killed in an ambush in the province’s Latehar district this week.
“The intention was to blow up others” handling the body after it was recovered from a forested area, Pradhan said. “This is probably the first time it’s been done in India.”
Bombs were also attached to the corpses of four other police killed in the clash, Pradhan said by phone. Two villagers died Jan. 8 when one exploded.
The Maoists regularly clash with police in about six of India’s 28 states, often in areas rich in iron ore, coal, bauxite, manganese, and other minerals with potential to attract large investments.
The rebels say they are fighting on behalf of poor villagers and tribal communities whose resources are being exploited to propel India’s economy with few benefits for local people. They have killed more than 9,200 civilians and security personnel since 1998.
© Copyright 2013 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.