Kanker: In the first incident involving casualties to security personnel since the March 31 deadline to end Left Wing Extremism in the country, four District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel were killed in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker on Saturday while attempting to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED).
There has been a massive push by security forces over the last couple of years, ever since the Union Ministry of Home Affairs announced the deadline. Several Maoists were killed and many, including top leaders, surrendered.
According to officials, a team from Kanker district’s DRG launched an operation in the jungle area of Chhotebethiya, which was earlier a Maoist stronghold and formed the entrance to Abujhmad from the Kanker side, on Saturday.
“The operation
was undertaken for demining IEDs, area domination and search operation for a few low cadre Naxals,” an official said, as reported by The Indian Express.
Four DRG personnel suffered serious injuries in an IED explosion during the demining operation. “They were attempting to defuse an IED when it exploded accidentally,” the official added.
While Inspector Sukhram Vatti, Constable Krishna Komra, and Constable Sanjay Gadhpale, succumbed to their injuries on the spot, Constable Parmanand Komra was rushed to a medical facility with serious injuries, where he died later.
“Over the past few months, based on information provided by surrendered Maoist cadres and other inputs, hundreds of IEDs previously hidden by Maoists had been recovered and neutralised by police and security forces in the Bastar range. However, today, this unfortunate incident took place,” Sundarraj Pattalingam, IG, Bastar range said.
Over 500 Maoists have been killed in Chhattisgarh between 2024 and 2026. The number of security personnel killed in Maoist-related violence was 42 in the same period. As many as 119 civilians were also killed in Maoist-related violence between 2024 and 2026.