RAJAHMUNDRY: A group of 40 police personnel had a narrow escape after the Maoists triggered a landmine at Kaligonda forest area under Chintoor police station limits in East Godavari district on Sunday.The incident took place when the police party was returning after a two-day combing operation in the dense forest area bordering Telangana and Chhattisgarh.Chintoor sub-inspector P Srinivasa Kumar , who headed the combing team, told TOI that they suspected the Sabari Dalam of Maoists behind the blast. "The blast took place a few metres away from the combing party . None of our team members was injured. The intensity of the landmine blast was low. But it could have killed some of the members.Thankfully , the team is safe.The Maoists have triggered the landmine seeing the police party approaching plain area from the forest," said Srinivasa Kumar.Kumar, who joined as a sub-inspector at Chintoor in September 2016, said the team took nearly four to five hours to reach to the plain area after the blast. The team conducted a thorough search of the area for more landmines. He said incidentally the team diffused two landmines on Saturday .The Maoists cut down tre es at Pega and Edugurallapalli villages of Chintoor on Saturday before planting the landmines on Saturday . Each of these landmines has about 20 kg explosives.The Sabari Dalam is active on the AP-Chhattisgarh border. Senior police officials however ruled out any link between the Sunday's blast and the one in Koraput district of Odisha earlier this month.

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