Two ITBP jawans killed in IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-affected Narayanpur

It is uncertain whether the security personnel accidentally stepped on the planted IED or it was triggered by Maoists while the forces were on the move in the operation.
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Updated on
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RAIPUR: Two jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed in a powerful explosion of improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the outlawed CPI (Maoist) close to forested terrain of Kodliyar village while the security forces were returning from the search operation in an edgy district of Narayanpur, south Bastar, on Saturday.

According to the Bastar Inspector General for Police Sundarraj P, the two personnel of the Narayanpur district police also sustained injuries in the IED blast, their conditions were stated to be stable and out of danger.

“Based on a tip-off about the presence of the Maoists in the region, a joint team of Narayanpur District Reserve Guard (DRG), the district police force, Bastar Fighters and ITBP unit was out on a planned operation. The deceased ITBP personnel, identified as Amar Panwar, 36, from Satara (Maharashtra) and K Rajesh, 36, who hailed from Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh), died during their evacuation from the area. Both the personnel belonged to the 53rd battalion of the paramilitary force. The other two injured troopers have been admitted to a hospital. The incident occurred at around afternoon on Saturday”, the IG said.

It couldn't be known whether the security personnel accidentally stepped on the planted IED or it was triggered by Maoists while the forces were on the move in the operation.

The casualties of the security personnel owing to the IED blast occurred in Narayanpur’s Abujhmad region two weeks after 38 cadres of the banned outfit were killed in an exchange of fire with the troops on October 4 along the inter-district border area of Dantewada and Narayanpur. 

This year so far 17 security personnel were killed in action and 35 jawans injured in the conflict-ridden Bastar zone, according to the official data shared by the Bastar police with this newspaper.

While the anti-Maoist operation remains in aggressive mode in the conflict zone of Bastar zone, the IEDs remain the easiest weapon for the banned outfit to inflict damage on the security forces.

CM Vishnu Deo Sai reiterated that the battle against the Maoists will continue till they get wiped-out.

The incident occurred while the fight against the Maoist is cited to be in its final stage and the union home minister Amit Shah last month in the state capital Raipur declared the country will be free from the Maoist problem by March 2026.

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