A DRG jawan was killed and three others injured in a Naxal IED blast in Bijapur’s Indravati National Park on Monday.
The blast occurred during an anti-Naxal operation launched on Sunday; the injured personnel are being evacuated after initial treatment.
The incident comes shortly after two senior Naxal cadres with a combined ₹1.16 crore bounty were killed in an encounter in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki on 13 August.
A District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan was killed and three others were injured on Monday when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites exploded in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police officials said.
The incident occurred in the morning inside the Indravati National Park area, a heavily forested stretch known for frequent Naxal activity. A team of DRG personnel, a specialised unit of the state police engaged in counter-insurgency operations, had been deployed on an anti-Naxal operation launched the previous day.
Confirming the casualties, a senior police officer said that DRG jawan Dinesh Nag lost his life in the blast, while three others sustained injuries. “The injured personnel were given preliminary medical treatment in the forest and are being shifted out for further care,” the official said. Details of the operation are yet to be released.
The attack underlines the persistent threat from Naxal groups in southern Chhattisgarh, even as security forces have reported recent gains in the region. On 13 August, two senior Naxal cadres were killed in a gun battle with security forces in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district.
Those killed were identified as Vijay Reddy, a prominent member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) who carried a bounty of ₹90 lakh, and Lokesh Salame, secretary of the Rajnandgaon-Kanker Border (RKB) division with a reward of ₹26 lakh. Together, the two carried a combined reward of ₹1.16 crore.
According to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the encounter followed a coordinated operation involving the Chhattisgarh Police, DRG and the 27th Battalion of the ITBP. “Security forces had been tracking the movement of the duo in the dense forest belt when the exchange of fire broke out,” the ITBP said in a statement after the encounter.
Monday’s IED blast in Bijapur indicates that despite the losses suffered by Naxal ranks in recent months, their presence in core forest zones remains intact, and security forces continue to face the risk of landmine and IED attacks during patrols.
(With inputs from PTI)
