Chhattisgarh IED blast: Hours before the deadly Naxal-triggered blast in Chhattisgarh, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had recovered and defused an IED weighing about 20-22 kg in Bijapur district, officials said. The Naxals blew up a security vehicle in the district 50 km away with an improvised explosive device weighing 60 to 70 kg, killing eight police personnel and a civilian driver on Monday.
The patrol party of the 196th battalion of the central force discovered explosives kept inside a blue plastic drum at around 7:30 am when it was out for an anti-Maoist operation in the Usoor police station area of the district.
IED weighed 20-22 kgs detected
As per the officials, the CRPF troops used a heavy earth mover machine (JCB) to recover the IED from under an unmetalled road. The IED weighed about 20-22 kgs. It was defused by the bomb disposal squad of the force in a few hours and traffic in the area was restored, the officials said.
"A major tragedy was averted as the IED was detected and rendered useless. The menace of such hidden explosives can be gauged from the Naxal-triggered blast that killed nine persons in the same district today," a senior CRPF officer told PTI.
Eight jawans among 9 killed in Naxals attack
In their deadliest strike on security forces in Chhattisgarh in two years, Naxals blew up a vehicle using a 60-70 kg strong IED near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station area at around 2.15 pm on Monday. Eight security personnel, four each from District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters- both units of state police- who were travelling in the SUV and the driver were killed on the spot, located around 70 km from the Bijapur district headquarters, the official said.
Police suspect the powerful IED was planted a long time back along the route used by security personnel.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said that the explosive device went off when DRG personnel from Dantewada district were returning in their Scorpio vehicle after conducting an anti-Naxalite operation.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: Chhattisgarh: Eight jawans, one driver killed after Naxalites blow up vehicle using IED in Bijapur
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