Lagatar24 Desk
Bijapur, Chhattisgarh: In a tragic incident, two police constables lost their lives and four others sustained injuries when suspected Maoists detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in the Tarrem area of Bijapur district, a region plagued by left-wing insurgency. The blast occurred amid ongoing intensified anti-Maoist operations, which have resulted in the deaths of at least 139 insurgents this year.
The Chhattisgarh Police, in an official statement, identified the deceased constables as Bharat Sahu and Satyer Singh Kange. The constables were part of a security team returning from a search operation on Wednesday when the IED exploded. The operation was launched following intelligence reports about the presence of Maoists from the Darbha Division, West Bastar Division, and Military Company Number 2 in the area spanning Bijapur, Dantewada, and Sukma.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a specialized unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trained in guerrilla tactics and jungle warfare, participated in the joint search operation. “Additional security forces have been dispatched to the area, and arrangements have been made to ensure proper medical treatment for the injured STF jawans,” the police statement read.
This tragic event coincided with the killing of 12 Maoists by Maharashtra Police near Jarabandi, bordering Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, on the same day. Earlier, on July 9, security forces neutralized a female Maoist in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, bringing the total number of Maoists killed in the state this year to 139, with 137 of these fatalities occurring in the Bastar division, which comprises seven districts, including Kanker.
The ongoing operations underscore the heightened efforts by security forces to tackle Maoist insurgency in the region, despite the high human cost involved.
