Naxal hit: 9 more bodies are found

BY RABINDRA NATH CHOUDHURY

BHUBANESWAR

July 4: With the recovery of 9 more bodies on Friday, the rescue team has so far retrieved bodies of 20 jawans, who lost their lives in Sunday’s attack by Maoist in Balimela reservoir in south Orissa.

The bodies were recovered from the cabin of the motorboat that capsized in the reservoir after coming under Maoists’ gunfire. "The naval divers retrieved these bodies by breaking open the windows of the cabin of the boat. They found more bodies trapped inside the cabin. However, poor visibility and narrow openings in the cabin are hindering the process of recovery," DIG, southern range, Sanjeev Panda, who is camping at the site, told this newspaper.

The vessel lies overturned at a depth of 140 ft. "The naval divers are planning to cut open the cabin with sophisticated equipments to scan it thoroughly to recover all the bodies inside it," he said. The team also found some weapons carried by the missing jawans from the reservoir bed.

A total 28 of 66 people, mostly Greyhounds jawans of AP, on board the launch had managed to swim ashore after the Maoist attack. Meanwhile, Orissa home secretary T.K. Mishra ruled out the possibility of any missing jawan being captured by the Maoists.