At least five District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel were killed in a powerful Explosive Device (IED) blast set off by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur on Tuesday, 23 March, The Indian Express reported.
Thirteen other personnel were also injured in the blast, which hit a bus in which 27 DRG personnel were travelling between Kadenar and Kanhargaon, according to PTI.
According to The Indian Express, the deceased have been identified as head constables Pawan Mandavi, Jaylal Uike, constable Sevak Salam, constable Karan Dehari, who was driving the bus, and assistant constable Vijay Patel.
The incident took place around 4 pm on the Kanhargaon-Kadenar Road.
According to The Times of India, Maoists had planted the IED under the bridge from where the bus crossed.
Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told The Times of India that the attack by the Maoists happened while the jawans were returning in a bus after carrying out an anti-Naxalite operation in the forests of Abujhmad.
“As the bus passed through a small bridge over the culvert in Kadenar region, the Naxalites triggered a blast. The impact caused the vehicle to turn upside down, leaving three jawans dead on the spot," he said.
The injured have been taken to the district hospital and will be air-lifted to Raipur for further treatment, Garg added.
“Personnel of ITBP’s 45th Battalion are evacuating the injured. The entire area has been cordoned off and a search is on,” the ITBP said, according to IANS.
As per investigation, Maoists were present at the location in civil clothes to keep an eye on the movement of the bus carrying the jawans.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed his condolences for the District Reserve Guard jawans who lost their lives in the blast through a tweet.
While condemning the incident. Baghel said that anti-Naxal ops will be intensified in the state. “Naxals are frustrated as they are losing their ground due to continuous operations by security forces in the region,” he added.
The attack came a day after five Maoists, including one allegedly involved in the killing of four policemen after abducting them in 2015, were arrested from two places in the state's Bijapur district.
(With inputs from ANI, IANS, The Indian Express, PTI and The Times of India)
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