RANCHI: An IED blast injured three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including an Assistant Commandant, during an anti-Maoist operation in West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand, on Wednesday. The explosion occurred in the Baliba area under the Jhariakela police station.
According to police, the injured—Assistant Commandant G.J. Sai, HCRO V.T. Rao, and CT/GD Dharamendra Kumar of the CRPF 197 Battalion—were airlifted from the site and rushed to Ranchi for advanced medical treatment.
"During the operation on Wednesday at about 8:40 AM, an IED, planted earlier by the Maoists to target the police, exploded, leaving Assistant Commandant G.J. Sai, HCRO V.T. Rao, and CT/GD Dharamendra Kumar injured," said Chaibasa SP Ashutosh Shekhar. "Taking swift action, the injured officer and personnel were rushed to Ranchi for advanced treatment," he added.
Notably, the incident took place while CRPF Director General was on a tour of Jharkhand. Security forces have been conducting intense search operations in the forests of Chaibasa to track down Maoist leader Anal Da, who carries a Rs 1 crore reward on his head.
The CRPF 197 Battalion, along with CoBRA commandos and the bomb disposal squad, had entered the Baliba forest in the Goilkera police station area to locate and neutralise IEDs reportedly planted by Naxalites on a large scale.
Acting on intelligence, the security forces launched a campaign to extract and destroy these explosives. During the mission, the IED blast occurred, injuring the three personnel.
Upon receiving news of the explosion, CRPF jawans immediately evacuated the injured from the jungle and transported them to a helipad, from where they were airlifted to Ranchi by helicopter.