Two CRPF jawans wounded in IED explosion in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar

This is the latest in a series of IED-related incidents in Bijapur, with 19 detected and diffused this year alone. (Express Photo)

Additional Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, Chandrakant Governa said, “The injured jawans have been evacuated. They are in a stable condition and out of danger.”

Since the start of this year, 19 IEDs have been detected and diffused in Bijapur, while six jawans, including the two Thursday, have been injured in such blasts. Out of the 300-odd IEDs found last year in the seven districts under Bastar region, over 100 were in Bijapur. Also, nearly 50 percent of arrests and surrender of Maoists last year in Bastar region are from Bijapur.

Forces in Bijapur also faced a major blow on January 6 when eight security personnel and one civilian driver lost their lives when a command IED weighing over 40 kgs ripped through a concrete road blowing away their SUV on Kutru-Bedre road in Bijapur.

“The Maoists have also started using beer bottles to plant IEDs, which helps them to camouflage the bomb as well as cause maximum damage due to the glass pieces which act as splinters,” said another police official.