Raipur: Two jawans lost their lives and two policemen were wounded in an IED blast carried out by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Saturday. Both jawans belonged to the 53rd battalion of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
The blast took place at around 12.10 pm in Abujhmad forest, near Kodliyar village.
The deceased were identified as Amar Panwar (36), a resident of Satara district in Maharashtra, and K Rajesh (36), resident of Kadappa in Karnataka.
Narayanpur police said in a statement that one of the joint teams of security personnel, out on an anti-Naxal operation, reached Kodliyar village where the blast took place.
ITBP apart, the teams comprised of personnel from Border Security Force (BSF) and District Reserve Guard of police. Their operation was launched from Orchha, Irakbhatti and Mohandi areas, police informed.
“Four jawans of ITBP and DRG were injured in the blast and were airlifted. All four injured were shifted to a hospital in the afternoon, when two ITBP jawans succumbed to injuries. The condition of the injured policemen is stable,” the statement said.
This year, 17 security personnel have been killed so far in Chhattisgarh while 191 Maoist bodies have been recovered, 706 arrested, while 733 have surrendered.