Munger: Munger superintendent of police (SP) Ashish Bharati narrowly escaped a Maoist trap on Friday inside Bhimbandh Wildlife Sanctuary, an erstwhile den of the rebels.

Bharati and personnel of the CRPF's 131 battalion were conducting a search operation inside the forest where a container bomb weighing nearly 2kg was recovered. The bomb was planted on the roadside by the outfit, sources said.

The incident has exposed the claims of police that Bhimbandh has been liberated from the Maoists.

In January 2005, then superintendent of police K.C. Surendra Babu was blown to pieces along with his bodyguard inside the Bhimbandh forest in a landmine explosion.