Hyderabad: Apologising for its "blunder" in blasting a passenger bus in Warangal district on November 18, which left 14 persons dead, the outlawed naxalite outfit People's War Group (PWG) has said the incident was a result of "miscalculation" that the state roadways bus was carrying police personnel.

"We seek pardon from people and the families of victims. It is an unforgettable and sad event in the history of the revolutionary movement," a spokesman of PWG's North Telangana special zone committee M Bhaskar said in a hand-written letter faxed to some vernacular dailies in Warangal on November 21.

While expressing "deep regrets" over the loss of lives, the naxal outfit, however, warned people against travelling with policemen as they might be used as "human shields" by police parties engaged in combing operations.

"We thought that the bus was carrying policemen and targetted it. We had information that a police party was returning from Ilapur (where five naxalites were killed over the week-end in a police encounter) with the bodies of our comrades. But, because of our miscalculation, we blasted another bus carrying passengers," the naxal said.

This is the second instance of a major "military blunder" in the blood-soaked history of naxalite movement, for which the naxal organisation has tendered a public apology.

In 1990, PWG naxals had burnt down a bogie of Kakatiya Express in Warangal district killing 40 passengers. Subsequently, it had apologised for the incident saying it was a big mistake.

PTI