• Source:JND
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Chhattisgarh IED Blast: Three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), including an inspector, were killed and another jawan was injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday. The bomb went off while they were trying to neutralise it as part of the demining operation.

First Blast Since Declaration Of Naxal-Free India

Notably, this was the first blast incident linked to Naxalite activity in Chhattisgarh since the country was declared free from armed Maoists on March 31.

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According to police, the security forces have launched a massive demining operation to detect IEDs laid by Naxals and defuse them in the Maoist-affected areas. The explosion occurred in a forest area under Chhotebethiya police station limits, near the Narayanpur district border, when a DRG team was conducting a demining operation to locate and defuse IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites, a police official said.

IED Detected During Demining Operation

Security officials, during the demining operation, detected an IED in Kanker, and they initiated the procedure to defuse it. However, the bomb went off while they were in the process of defusing it, leaving three dead and one injured. Inspector Sukhram Vatti, constable Krishna Komra and constable Sanjay Gadhpale succumbed to their injuries on the spot. Another injured constable, Parmanand Komra, was taken to the hospital, where he underwent treatment.

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Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam said, based on inputs from surrendered Maoist cadres and other intelligence over the past few months, security forces had recovered and neutralised hundreds of IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites across the Bastar range, comprising seven districts, including Kanker.

"However, in today's unfortunate incident, the IED accidentally exploded while the Kanker district police team was trying to defuse it, resulting in the death of three personnel and serious injuries to one," he said.

(With PTI Inputs)


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