Bijapur: A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was killed and two others injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Maoists in the Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on Monday morning.
The dead jawan was identified as Dinesh Nag. The injured have been rushed to hospital and are said to be out of danger.
The incident occurred during an operation against Maoists suspected to be present in the area, IG (Bastar Range) P Sundarraj confirmed. It is suspected that the rebels laid a trap for the security personnel.
The operation is still underway and reinforcements have reached the area, an official said. The troops are exercising caution while moving in the forested area as more IEDs may have been planted.
Earlier, on August 14, the security forces neutralised two Maoists carrying a combined bounty of Rs 1.16 crore during a gun battle in Chhattisgarh’s Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district.
Vijay Reddy, a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), who carried a bounty of Rs 90 lakh, and Lokesh Salame, secretary of the Rajnandgaon-Kanker Border (RKB) division, with a reward of Rs 26 lakh on his head, were killed in a joint operation by the Chhattisgarh Police, District Reserve Guard (DRG), and the 27th Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
Additional forces have been deployed in the state to try and get rid of the top leadership of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). The Ministry of Home Affairs has set a target to end Left Wing Extremism in the country by the end of March, 2026.
