Naxals using crackers, incense sticks to 'fool' & attack CRPF camps

THE INCENSE STICKS, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS, ARE USED AS 'TIMERS'

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NEW DELHI: Diwali crackers and incense sticks are the new improvised tools used by Maoists to attack security forces' camps in remote areas in various Left wing extremism-affected regions of the country, according to official sources.

This unique modus operandi of using incense sticks to burst crackers and "divert attention" of the camp troops to launch a swift rocket and gunfire attack was prominently noticed around the Pusuguppa camp of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Kothagudem of Telangana on September 25.

A senior officer undertaking anti-Naxal operations said, on that day around 6:30 pm as night started descending, the troops at the camp along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border were alerted with sounds of blasts and subsequent emanating smoke just about 200m from the boundary of their base.