IED blast during Maoists’ ‘Resistance Week’ leaves security personnel injured in Jharkhand forest
According to sources, an inspector of the CRPF’s 60th Battalion is among the injured. Police said they were working on evacuating everyone from the blast site and that full details would only emerge after that.
The blast comes at a time when security has been tightened following the banned CPI (Maoist)’s announcement of “Resistance Week” from October 8 to 14. (Express Photo)
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An improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Saranda forest of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Friday evening has injured security personnel conducting an anti-Maoist operation, police said.
The blast comes at a time when security has been tightened following the banned CPI (Maoist)’s announcement of “Resistance Week” from October 8 to 14.
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Police could not confirm the exact number of security personnel injured and said full details would emerge only after everyone from the site of the explosion is evacuated. According to sources, an inspector of the CRPF’s 60th Battalion is among the injured.
Chaibasa SP Amit Renu said, “An IED blast has taken place, and we are in the process of moving the injured to a safe location and then to the hospital. One person has already been moved, and others are being evacuated. There are at least two-three injured personnel. We will share full details later after everything gets confirmed.”
District police, the CRPF, and other security personnel were conducting an anti-Maoist operation in the Babudera area of the Samtha region when Maoists triggered the IED blast, officials said. Following the incident, a medical team was immediately dispatched to the area.
Three days ago, IG (Operations) Michael Raj had warned of heightened Maoist activity in the state ahead of “Resistance Week” and a one-day bandh. He had said that the Jharkhand Police was fully prepared, with special vigilance ordered in Maoist-affected districts, and adequate police deployment at all sensitive locations, government offices, and transport routes.
Raj had urged the public to carry on with their daily lives without fear, warning them against paying attention to rumours and assuring them that the police were committed to maintaining peace and security in the state.
Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India.
Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions.
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