Cop sustains injuries while trying to diffuse IED in Bijapur

An IED allegedly planted by the Maoists exploded injuring a policeman on Thursday. The cop was trying to diffuse the IED when it exploded.

Bijapur (Chhattisgarh): A police officer was injured in an explosion allegedly triggered by Maoists when he tried to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED) in Nelsnar village in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday. The injured cop, identified as Sitaram Kudiyam, was taken to a hospital in Dantewada for treatment, but as his condition deteriorated, he was airlifted to Raipur.

According to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Anjaneya Varshney, the Nelsnar police station received information about an IED found three kilometers from Bangapal village. The police teams, along with the bomb disposal squad, were sent to the spot to defuse the IED. Unfortunately, the cop was injured in the explosion that occurred during the defusing process.

Chhattisgarh continues to report several instances of IEDs being found in villages, indicating the unabated IED explosions in the state. On April 18, a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) recovered and destroyed an IED weighing about five kilograms during a search in Rajpur village under Chhotedongar police station area limits in Narayanpur district. Fortunately, no one was injured in this operation.

On April 17, there was an exchange of fire between the police and Naxalites near Bade Tungali village under Jangla police station area limits of Bijapur. During the firing, the Naxalites managed to escape into the forest. The cops launched a search operation in the area and recovered an IED. While trying to defuse the IED, Shankar Paret, a jawan of DRG, suffered injuries as the IED exploded.

On April 14, a live IED weighing five kilograms was recovered on Tadonar Road under Kukjhor police station area limits of Narayanpur. The Bomb Disposal Squad defused the live IED on the spot, preventing any harm.