Naxals loot explosives from SAIL mine

Naxal guerillas raided a mining facility of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in Chhattisgarh's Durg district late Thursday evening and looted about two tonnes of explosives.

This is the second biggest explosives robbery from a major industrial facility in the Left insurgency-hit state.

The biggest was in February 2006 when rebels raided the magazine of state-owner mining company NMDC in Dantewada district and walked away with 20 tonnes of explosives after killing eight Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) personnel.

Police sources said more than 100 armed rebels reached SAIL's Mahamaya mines in the Dallirajhara area "" about 170 km from the state capital "" from where iron ore is supplied to the company's flagship Bhilai Steel Plant at about 3 pm Thursday.

"It was a well-planned attack as rebels cordoned off the area and blocked the approach roads to the mines with trucks transporting iron ore from the area," a senior police official said. The Naxalites overpowered the SAIL officials and employees working in the mines at gunpoint before locking them in rooms.

Sources said rebels stayed in the mines for more than five hours before they walked away with the explosives and other materials used for blasting.

The police were informed by two employees who managed to slip out of the mines and reach Dallirajhara after travelling for two hours.

By the time the state police and CISF personnel rushed to the spot with senior officials, the rebels had escaped into the adjoining forests. They also abducted 10 SAIL officials and employees, but released them late at night after ensuring that they were in safe zone.

The police were only able to confirm the incident well past midnight after SAIL officials were able to verify the quantity of explosives and other materials that had been stolen.

According to SAIL officials, the Naxalites were aware of explosives reaching the mines on Thursday afternoon. The explosives are transported to the Mahamaya mines from Dallirajhara twice in a week.

Security personnel were able to clear the movement of stranded trucks from the area "" covered with thick forests and hilly terrains "" only today morning. More than 90 trucks were stranded with loads of iron ore, sources said. On Thursday, only 130 tonnes of iron ore could be transported to Dallirajhara against an average supply of 400 tonnes.

"Mining work has been affected but normalcy had been restored," BSP Managing Director R Ramaraju told Business Standard. Production at the plant was not affected, but SAIL has to bear a huge loss from the theft of explosives. The full extent of the loss will be known later, Ramaraju added.