Mumbai: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday said that the security forces are in the “last stage of eliminating the Naxalite menace” from the state. The statement by the Jharkhand Chief Minister came hours after Naxalites triggered an improvised explosive device (IED) during an anti-Maoist operation in a forest area of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand leading to injuries to a CRPF constable.
Talking to reporters in Maharashtra's Nagpur over the Naxalite attack, CM Soren said, “There is an anti-Naxalite campaign going on there, such incidents are happening there. A similar incident happened three to four days ago. Our jawans and CRPF jawans are in the last stage of complete elimination of Naxalites”.
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Jharkhand chief minister further said that the state was a stronghold of Naxalites “for many years, (but) we have succeeded in completely destroying that stronghold”. “Soldiers are martyred, so it is sad,” he said. He said that “we are proud of such soldiers”. Pertinently, a spokesman of the Jharkhand police said that an IED, planted by banned CPI (Maoists), exploded in the forest near Hesabandh village in Muffasil area of West Singbhum district of Jharkhand when a team of security personnel from CRPF, its special operation unit Cobra, Jharkhand Jaguar and district armed police was carrying out the operation against the Naxalites.
In the IED explosion, a CRPF constable (174 battalion), identified as Hafizur Rahman, suffered injuries in the blast and was airlifted to a hospital in state capital Ranchi for treatment, the police spokesman said in a statement.
