Chhattisgarh: Tributes Offered To Soldiers Martyred In Sukma IED Blast

Bastar: Tributes were paid, and a final salute ceremony was carried out on Monday in honour of the two slain personnel of the CRPF's jungle warfare unit CoBRA, who were killed after Naxalites blew up a truck with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgah's Sukma district a day ago.

The blast took place near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of security forces, over 400 km from the state capital Raipur. The two soldiers of Cobra 201 battalion who laid down their lives were identified as Constable Shailendra Kumar, 29, a resident of Kanpur, and driver Vishnu R, 35, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. 

Tributes were paid to both the martyred soldiers at Cobra Headquarters Karanpur in Bastar district. After the tribute meeting, the bodies of the martyred soldiers were sent to their native villages. Chhattisgarh state DGP Ashok Juneja, CRPF Cobra Sector IG Rajesh Khurana, ADG Naxal Operation Vivekanand Sinha, Bastar IG Sundarraj P., CRPF officers and other security force personnel were present during the tribute meeting.

An advance party of the 201st unit of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) had launched patrolling from Silger camp under Jagargunda police station limits as a part of its Road Opening Party duty towards Tekalgudem. The security personnel were on motorcycles while their luggage and rations were being ferried in the ill-fated truck when the IED blast took place.