9 CRPF men die in Chhattisgarh blast

Raipur/New Delhi, March 13

Nine Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and two injured after Maoists blew up their mine-protected vehicle (MPV) in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma, a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district. 

Officials said the incident took place around 12.30 pm along the 5-km under-construction Kistaram-Palodi road when the troops of CRPF’s 212th Battalion were out for an operation.

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the incident was “deeply distressing” and asked CRPF Director General RR Bhatnagar to rush to Chhattisgarh. Over 50 kgs of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), concealed under the track, were used in the blast. The armoured MPV went 10 feet into the air before crashing, officials said.

Those killed have been identified as Assistant Sub-Inspector RKS Tomar, Head Constable Laxman and Constables Ajay K Yadav, Manoranjan Lanka, Jitendra Singh, Shobhit Sharma, Manoj Singh, Dharmendra Singh and Chandra HS. 

“The troops were going towards a new post in Palodi. Naxals were first spotted in the area at 8 am and the CoBRA teams retaliated and broke the ambush. However, when a convoy was crossing the area in the noon, the second mine-protected vehicle got caught in the blast,” the DG said. — PTI