Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced Rs 13 lakh compensation for the family of journalist Rohit Kumar Biswal, who was killed in an IED explosion triggered by Maoists in Odisha’s Kalahandi district.
A native of Mohangiri village, he was a correspondent of a vernacular daily, Dharitri, and had reportedly gone to the spot to take visuals of the Maoist posters put up near the bridge in Madanpur Rampur block, urging the local people to boycott the panchayat poll.
The landmines suddenly exploded while he was trying to go near a poster, killing him on the spot, sources said.
Confirming the incident, Kalahandi SP Dr Vivek M said that IEDs were placed targeting the police.
Police had input on the posters at 9 am this morning and a team, including a CRPF team, was mobilised to inspect the spot. “The unfortunate incident happened before our team could reach the spot,” he said.
There is a possibility of IEDs planted near such posters, he added.
The area was later sanitised by the bomb squad.
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