Ill-fated cops got jobs after a long wait, but die midway

Visakhapatnam: For the 13 assistant drivers, the journey on Wednesday on the ghat road was most important and joyful as they were going to Angul to undergo training for the jobs which they recently got after a long court battle. However, eight of them never realised it would be their last journey of their lives.

All the 13 members were selected for police department as assistant drivers in 2015 but due to some technical, judicial hurdles, they could not get postings along with their other batch mates. These men approached the courts and fought with the government and finally got jobs.

Recently, they were invited by the government to join the department and were sent to get training. After getting the court orders, the youth enjoyed a lot for realising their dreams after a long wait.

They came half way and targeted by the Maoists and lost their lives. Eight of them were killed and five others are undergoing treatment for wounds in a corporate hospital in the city.

Survivors told this correspondent that they never guessed they would become target of Maoists and the journey would become a such a tragedy, incident in their lives. “We don’t know what happened.

The blast rattled us and for a moment everything went black. The magnitude of the blast was so severe that the bus after hit by landmine, toppled into 70 feet deep gorge,’’ said Pradeep Kumar Malik.

The five survivors are Lipun Kumar Nath, Pradeep Kumar Malik, Radha Syam Das, Sweta Kumar Das and Pramod Kumar Biswal.

Another injured Pramod Kumar said there was a huge blast and it took them some time to recover from the shock as some men lay dead and a portion of the road was ripped off.

“We never expected to be alive after such a huge blast,’’ Pramod said. The condition of Lipun Kumar Nath is said to be serious as his body was pierced with glass pieces and metal figments.

However, the condition of the remaining personnel is said to be stable, said AGM of Seven Hills Hospital, Suryaprakash. HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao and local police officials visited the hospital and consoled the injured persons.

Meanwhile, police intensified the combing operations in Maoist-hit areas in Vizag Agency and along AOB suspecting that the Maoists might create panic by involving in more violent incidents to show their existence in the region.

Sources in police said that police officers from north Andhra and Odisha reviewed the situation following the landmine blast by the Maoists.

Police also intensified the vehicular checking at all the entry points in AOB areas to nab the suspected persons.