CRPF recovered 20-kg IED in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur hours before Naxal-triggered blast that killed 9

Raipur: The CRPF on Monday recovered and defused an IED weighing about 20-22 kg in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur around seven hours before Naxals blew up a security vehicle in the district 50 km away with thrice the quantity of explosives, killing eight police personnel and a civilian driver, officials said.

"A major tragedy was averted as the IED was detected and rendered useless. The menace of such hidden explosives can be gauged from the Naxal-triggered blast that killed nine persons in the same district today," a senior CRPF officer told PTI.

The improvised explosive device (IED) kept inside a blue plastic drum was detected by a patrol party of the 196th battalion of the central force at around 7:30 am when it was out for an anti-Maoist operation in the Usoor police station area of the district.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops used a heavy earth mover machine (JCB) to recover the IED from under an unmetalled road, the officials said.

The IED weighed about 20-22 kgs. It was defused by the bomb disposal squad of the force in a few hours and traffic in the area was restored, the officials said.

In their deadliest strike on security forces in Chhattisgarh in two years, Naxals blew up a vehicle using a 60-70 kg strong IED near Ambeli village under the Kutru police station area at around 2.15 pm on Monday.

Police suspect the powerful IED was planted a long time back along the route used by security personnel.

The explosive device went off when DRG personnel from Dantewada district were returning in their Scorpio vehicle after conducting an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.

Eight security personnel, four each from District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters- both units of state police- who were travelling in the SUV and the driver were killed on the spot, located around 70 km from the Bijapur district headquarters, the official said.