Naxals armoury reloaded with Rambo arrows, rocket bombs: Report

The Naxals have developed some latest "very lethal" and crude ammunition like 'rambo arrows' and 'rocket bombs' as part of their new IED armoury to launch attacks and inflict casualty on security forces, a latest report on the emerging trends in the LWE theatre has revealed.

According to a report prepared by a joint security command on IED threats said the Maoists have devised a smart way of concealing crude bombs "in animal excreta to deceive sniffer dogs" of the security teams from detecting and alerting their masters.

"There were occasions in the first quarter of 2017, when sniffer dogs of security forces were killed or injured as pressure improvised explosive devices (IEDs) exploded while the canines were getting agitated because of the obnoxious smell (of the excreta) while trying to detect the hidden IEDs," the report accessed by PTI said.

Two ferocious canines of the CRPF, famed as the 'Osama hunters', were killed last year due to Naxal planted IEDs in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, prompting the force to order an inquiry into these 'highly unusual' incidents.

The technique of concealing the IED under animal excreta is suspected to be the fatal explosions that claimed the lives of the canines, considered a vital tool to detect IEDs and save troops lives.

The forces have now been alerted against these new threats to their patrol dogs.

The IEDs in the LWE theatre have emerged as the biggest killers over the past many years as they have maimed and killed hundreds of security forces personnel in various states.

One of the newest technique witnessed in this domain, the report said, is the use of an innovative explosive material called 'rambo arrow' by the CPI (Maoist) cadres.

"The arrow head carries low grade gun powder or fire cracker powder which explodes after hitting the target.

"The rambo arrows doesn't cause much damage but disorients the security personnel by generating intense heat and fog, thereby making it easy for the Maoists to inflict fatal battle injuries on the troops and helps them to loot their weapons intact," the analysis of the new IED trends said.

The report said the Maoists are increasingly using this technique instead of high grade explosives or IEDs as such a blast renders the weapons of the security personnel useless as they get badly damaged.

This tactic was prominently witnessed on April 24 last year, it said, when Naxals carried out a deadly attack in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh that killed 25 CRPF men and their weapons were "looted."
On inspecting few of the unexploded arrows, it has been found that Maoists have "used low explosive and aluminium powder in the arrows which on hitting in the proximity of the living being can cause grievous hurt and could also lead to casualty, if hit on vital parts."