New Delhi: Guerrilla warfare technique coupled with the use of technology is making outlaws in Chhattisgarh deadlier. The attack which claimed the lives of BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and four police officers is one such example. The naxals have started using high tech gadgets to increase damage on impact while installing IEDs in Chhattisgarh.

A police team investigating a blast site recovered a Global Positioning System (GPS) device which indicates that ultras are turning tech-savvy and using GPS devices for geo-tagging spots after planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), averred a senior police officer on the condition of anonymity.

“A GPS device has been recovered from the blast spot and investigation is underway to find out whether it belongs to naxals or not. Inputs also confirmed that rebels are using GPS device to tag locations of planted IEDs,” said Dantewada Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Abhishek Pallava.   

Also read: BJP MLA, 4 policemen die in naxal attack

He added that the police are examining the recovered GPS device to find out if the device is carrying more data about IED planted in the district. 

Notably, Maoists were earlier using rocks, trees and other pieces as signs of remembering spots where they plant IEDs to target security personnel engaged in anti-naxal operations.

Naxals have changed the pattern of planting IED, said SP Dr Pallava, elaborating that “earlier, Maoists use to plant explosives immediately after digging the ground which they leave for several days ranging from weeks to months and now, they are planting a new explosive to maintain its intensity. The 7 feet crater caused by the explosion that ripped Bheema Mandavi’s bulletproof vehicle into two pieces hints that high-quality explosives were used.”

Police sources averred that Bheema Mandavi’s mobile phone was missing from the spot. Reacting to the fact, police have started collecting Mandavi’s Call Detail Records (CDR).