Cop injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh; 2nd incident in 2 days

Sukma: A District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites exploded in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Tuesday morning, police said.

The blast took place near Saletong village under Kistaram police station area, where two security personnel were injured in a similar incident on Monday, a police official said.

A new camp of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was set up in Saletong, a Naxal stronghold, on Tuesday to facilitate road construction and other development works.

The camp is located on the strategically important Chintalnar-Kistaram route and would also be crucial in carrying out counter-insurgency operations in the area, he said.

Before setting up of the camp, joint teams of security personnel carried out demining operation in the vicinity to trace IEDs planted by Naxalites.

During one such exercise on Tuesday morning, DRG jawan Joga came in contact with a pressure IED, triggering the blast, the official said.

The injured jawan was being shifted to a hospital for treatment, he said.

On Monday, two CRPF personnel were injured in a similar pressure IED blast in the area.

Search operation is currently under way in the area, the official said.