Raipur: Five police personnel had been killed and 13 others injured as Naxals blew up the bus in which they had been touring in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Tuesday, senior police officers stated.
The landmine explosions passed off between Kanhargaon and Kadenar villages beneath Dhaudai police station limits.
Personnel of the police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) had been returning in the bus to Narayanpur city, 300 km away from capital Raipur, after a counter-insurgency operation, stated Inspector General of Police (Bastar vary) Sundarraj P.
“Five DRG personnel, including the driver, were killed in the explosions,” he informed PTI.
Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and our bodies and injured personnel had been evacuated from the forest.
The injured personnel are being airlifted to Raipur in an Indian Air Force chopper for remedy, the IG added.
Sundarraj stated a joint workforce of safety forces from Narayanpur and neighbouring Dantewada district had launched an anti-Naxal operation on the border of two districts on Monday.
Around 3 pm on Tuesday, safety forces from Narayanpur returned to Kademeta camp. Those belonging to the DRG unit of the district headquarter proceeded in a bus, he stated.
Around 4.15 pm, Naxals triggered three blasts concentrating on the bus which had some 25 personnel onboard. Those killed had been recognized as Head Constables Pavan Mandavi and Jailal Uikey, constables Karah Dehari and Seval Salaam and assistant constable Vijay Patel.
The bus was passing alongside the under-construction Barsoor-Palli street which is surrounded by dense forests of Abhujmad when the naxals triggered the blasts, one other official stated. The impression was such that it fell off the culvert.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel condemned the assault. “Maoists are frustrated as they are losing ground due to continuous operations by the security forces in the region. This act is an outcome of desperation. Operations against the Naxals will be intensified,” he stated in an announcement.
Baghel additionally spoke to Director General of Police D M Awasthi and requested him to take mandatory steps, the assertion stated.
The CM conveyed his condolences to the households of the martyred personnel and directed officers to make sure the absolute best remedy for the injured, the discharge stated.
This was the second main Naxal assault on DRG personnel – the frontline anti-Naxal drive of the state police — in the span of 1 12 months.
The DRG personnel are recruited from amongst native youth and surrendered Naxals in Bastar division.
On March 21, 2020, 17 safety personnel, together with 12 from DRG, had been killed in a Naxal ambush in Sukma district of the area.
