3 ITBP jawans injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon

Rajnandgaon, October 16

Three Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawans were injured in an Improved Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district on Tuesday, police said.

The incident took place around 11 am on the hills near Rajadera and Ramgarh villages when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist operation, Rajnandgaon SP Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the hilly area, located around 75 km from here, the ultras triggered the IED blast that injured the three jawans, he said.

Those injured included a head constable and two constables of the ITBP’s 44th battalion, he said.

Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured personnel were shifted to a local hospital from where they would be airlifted to Raipur for further treatment, he said.

A search operation was under way in the region, the official said.

Six Assembly constituencies of Rajnandgaon district are among the 18 seats of the eight Naxal-affected districts where polling will be held in the first phase the state Assembly elections on November 12.

Security forces have intensified patrolling in these constituencies in view of the polls.

Naxals had earlier asked people in Bijapur district to refrain from voting in the state polls. PTI