Jawan killed in IED blast in Sukma
A District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan was killed, while two others were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Sunday, police said. According to Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Meena, the incident took place between Bhejji and Elarmadgu villages when a team of the DRG, the state police's anti-Naxal force, was conducting a search operation.
The rebels triggered the blast when the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest between Bheji and Elarmadgu, located around 500 km from state capital Raipur, he said.
"Assistant Constable Karram Dara was seriously injured in the explosion, while two others sustained minor injuries," Meena said, adding that reinforcement was rushed to the spot immediately.
"Dara succumbed to his injuries while being airlifted to Raipur. The two other injured jawans were admitted at (a hospital in) Raipur and said to be out of danger," he said.
An operation was underway to trace the ultras involved in the attack, the SP added.
Maoists frequently use IEDs or home-made bombs to target security personnel in Chhattisgarh.
Sukma was among the over half-a-dozen districts, most of them Naxal-affected, where polling was held in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly election on November 12.
The first phase of the polls covered 18 of the 90 Assembly seats in the state and the remaining constituencies will vote on November 20 in the second and final round of polling in the state.
The election results will be announced on December 11.
