In a disturbing development, Naxals, in an aberrant development, carried out a blast using an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Friday, injuring two personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG). The incident occurred while the DRG and Border Security Force (BSF) were conducting a search operation together.
According to police officials, the blast occurred around 8:30 AM close to the villages of Kachhapal in the Kokhameta police station area. As part of the Kachhapal police camp search operation, the operation had been launched to secure what had been a Naxal-affected region.
IED blast injures DRG constables
While the joint team was conducting an operation and cordoning off a forest area adjacent to Kachhapal, the Naxals detonated the IED, injuring two DRG personnel, Janak Patel and Ghasiram Manjhi. Both of them have been immediately shifted to Narayanpur District Hospital. Police sources confirmed that their condition is stable and out of danger.
The attack occurs within months of a similar incident that occurred in October 2024, during which two personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) lost their lives in an IED blast executed by Naxals. The bloody explosion was targeted at a team coming back from an anti-Naxal search operation from the Abujhmad area. The two deceased ITBP personnel were identified as Amar Pawar, a 36-year-old hailing from Satara, Maharashtra, and K. Rajesh, aged 36, from Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
The extent of violence that can occur in Naxal-affected areas such as Chhattisgarh serves as an indication of what is to come and the continued threat insurgent groups pose to the security of the country while conducting operations across these areas. There shall most likely be an increase in security measures by the authorities and continued attempts to neutralize Naxal elements in the state.
