Telangana tribal man killed in landmine blast on Karreguttalu hillocks: Police

A 60-year-old tribal man was killed after a landmine exploded on Karreguttalu hillocks in Telangana’s Mulugu district on Wednesday evening, police said.Tribal man, 60, killed after stepping on an IED while collecting bamboo with five others.The hillocks, located along the Chhattisgarh border, were once strongholds of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).The deceased, Madakam Nageswara Rao of Nugur village in Venkatapuram mandal, was collecting bamboo in the forest with five other tribal villagers when he allegedly stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED) at Bedemgutta, about 10 km from their village, police said. The others escaped unhurt.“He, along with five other tribal villagers, had gone into the forests on Karreguttalu hillocks to collect bamboo,” a police officer from Venkatapuram said.“While they were walking down the hillocks, Nageshwara Rao accidentally stepped on an improvised explosive device (IED), which exploded, throwing him a few metres away and causing serious injuries. The others managed to escape unhurt,” he said.The other tribal men immediately covered Nageshwar Rao’s wounds with clothes and carried him on a makeshift stretcher made from bamboo sticks. They reached the village on Thursday morning and informed the police.“On getting the information, we rushed to the village and launched a probe into the incident,” the police official said, adding that the security forces were trying to find out whether there were any other landmines planted along the route the tribal men travelled.In July and August 2025, one tribal man and two other persons lost limbs in landmine blasts on the hillocks. Similarly, in February 2026, a policeman was injured during a demining operation on the hillocks, which have now been thrown open to the public after Maoists were eliminated from the area.