Ranchi, Jan 10: Maoists cut open the stomach of a dead trooper to plant a bomb inside which was defused after doctors conducting an autopsy raised an alarm, police said Thursday.
Eleven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed Tuesday in an ambush by Maoists in Latehar district, 110 km from here. The bodies of four men were recovered only Wednesday.
When the bodies were taken to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Science here for autopsy, "doctors found a cut mark on the stomach of a dead CRPF man", a police official told IANS.
Suspecting a bomb had been thrust inside the stomach, the doctors called police. A bomb disposal squad defused it.
Additional forces sent later Tuesday rescued some of the injured CRPF personnel and also recovered some bodies. The Maoists killed two villagers on charges of assisting the CRPF.
Police said the guerrillas lured the security personnel into a trap near Amuatikar village in Latehar by sending them fake messages.
It led to a gun battle between security forces and Maoists Monday afternoon. It continued till Wednesday.
The guerrillas fired at the unsuspecting security forces from a vantage point.
Maoists are active in 18 of Jharkhand's 24 districts.