RAIPUR: Four security personnel of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighter force were killed in an accidental improvised explosive device (IED) blast during a de-mining and area domination operation along the Kanker–Narayanpur border in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday.The incident took place in Chhotebethiya region which is still considered to be Maoist-affected zone. This is the first incident in the insurgency-hit Bastar region that has claimed lives of security personnel since the state was declared Maoist-free on March 31. Bastar range inspector general of police P Sundarraj said that a joint team had moved out for area domination and search operations aimed at sanitizing Maoist-affected terrain. He said the explosion occurred while the team was attempting to defuse an IED believed to have been dumped earlier by Maoists, after they already collected recoveries from one Maoist dump. The IED was there in the second dump.The deceased were identified as inspector Sukhram Watti, constable Krishna Komra and Bastar Fighter constables Sanjay Gadhpale and Parmanand Korram. All four suffered critical injuries in the blast and two died on the spot, while two others succumbed to injuries during treatment. Bastar IG said the operation was part of an ongoing effort to neutralize hidden explosives in the region. “In the past few months, based on inputs from surrendered Maoist cadres and other intelligence, security forces have recovered and defused hundreds of IEDs concealed by Maoists across the Bastar range,” he said.He added that the Kanker police team was engaged in a similar de-mining exercise when the explosive device accidentally detonated. “Despite extensive efforts to detect and neutralize such threats, the terrain remains highly risky due to the presence of concealed IEDs. Today’s incident is a tragic reminder of the dangers faced by personnel on the ground,” the IG said.Deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma who also serves as home minister said that the IED was in the dump and it was manufactured in the way that it blasted before it could be defused. “It’s a big incident that we lost one inspector and three constables of state,” he said.The Bastar region has long witnessed the use of IEDs by Maoists as a primary tactic to target security forces, often planting them along forest tracks, culverts and approach routes used during operations. With intensified anti-Naxal operations and a surge in surrenders in recent months, forces have stepped up demining drives to make interior areas safer for movement and development work.Senior police officials said reinforcements were rushed to the spot following the blast, and the area has been cordoned off for further sanitisation. The injured jawan was evacuated for treatment, while bodies of the deceased were being brought to the district headquarters.
