Two Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were killed, and two personnel of the Chhattisgarh Police were injured in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast carried out by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Saturday (October 19, 2024), the police said.
The blast took place in the Abujhmad forest, a vast, 4,000 sq km unsurveyed area in the conflict-hit Bastar region. This region has seen intense activity, including a separate operation, on October 4, when security forces killed 38 Maoists in another part of the forest.
In a statement issued on Saturday (October 19, 2024), the police said that a joint team of security personnel, including the ITBP, Border Security Force (BSF), local police, Bastar Fighters, and District Reserve Guard, were returning from an operation when the blast occurred in a forest area near Kodiliyar village between 11.30 a.m. and 12 p.m. The team was acting on information about the presence of Maoists from Abujhmad division.
The security personnel had left from different camps in Orchha, Mohandi and Irakbhatti on Thursday (October 17, 2024), and headed towards Dhurbeda, the police said. They did not encounter any Maoists and were on their way back when the IED blast occurred.
“The ITBP personnel who died have been identified as Amar Panwar (36) from Satara district of Maharashtra, and K. Rajesh (36) from Kadappa in Andhra Pradesh. Both were from the 53rd Battalion of the ITBP,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) P. Sundarraj said.
The two policemen who were injured in the blast are reportedly out of danger and being brought to State capital Raipur for further treatment.
Published - October 19, 2024 10:45 pm IST
