Tribal man dies in IED explosion at Karregutta hillocks in Mulugu

A tribal man from Mulugu district died after stepping on a Maoist-planted IED in Karregutta hillocks while returning from a bamboo collection. The incidenthas raised concerns about safety as police forces promote the hillocks for tourism.

Mulugu: A tribal man has died as an improvised explosive device (IED) allegedly planted by Maoists went off on Karregutta hillocks in the district.

The deceased, Madakam Nageswara Rao (60) of Nugur village in Venkatapuram mandal in the district was said to have gone into the forests along with five others to collect bamboo.

---

Kursam Papa Rao, one of the persons who accompanied the deceased, told the media that they went into Karregutta forests on Monday, stayed there on Tuesday night and cut bamboo on Wednesday.

On their way back home during the evening hours they walked one after another; Nageswara Rao accidentally stepped on the pressure bomb; was thrown up and fell down due to the blast impact.

He suffered grievous injuries; the wounds were covered with clothes and he was carried on a makeshift stretcher made with sticks and clothes. On the way back, they stopped at a place in the forests as he wanted to have a cup of tea and he died before reaching the village,
Papa Rao said.

The incident took place at Bedemgutta nearly 10 kilometres from the village. The body reached the village early hours on Thursday. Upon learning of the incident the local police reached the village and launched a probe into the incident.

Police were inquiring with the eyewitnesses about the path on which they travelled while going into the forests and coming back so that they could search the area for any other landmines possibly left by the Maoists.

It might be recalled that in July and August in 2025 one tribal man and two persons lost limbs in landmine blasts on the hillocks. Similarly in February 2026, a policeman was injured during a demining operation on the hillocks.

The latest incident has raised questions on how safe Karregutta hillocks could be as the State police and Central police forces have opened the hillocks for the public to promote tourism.