Jharkhand: CoBRA jawan injured in IED blast in West Singhbhum

JAMSHEDPUR: A 35-year-old inspector of the CoBRA battalion suffered critical injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in West Singhbhum district on Saturday, SP Ashutosh Shekhar said.
The jawan accidentally stepped on the pressure-triggered explosive while conducting a search operation in the Rengrahatu forest under the Tonto police station limits.The injured jawan has been airlifted to the Medica hospital in Ranchi for treatment.
During the operation, the security forces also recovered 10 live IEDs from Gitilipi village in Kuida panchayat under the Goilkera police station limits. The explosives were planted underground on the stretch connecting the forest with the foothills.
The SP said, "The search operation is underway at both places. There are no reports of any other recovery so far."
Shekhar added that the security forces foiled the Maoists in their plan to cause life threats to the jawans for the third time in the past one month.
Earlier, the security forces recovered 18 live IEDs in two separate search operations on November 1 and 11 during the search operations at Chidibeda and Tatibeda villages in the Rengrahatu jungle on the borders of the Goilkera and Tonto police station areas.
A 45-year-old villager was also killed in the IED explosion in Tatibera when he accidentally stepped on the explosive.
The joint security forces CRPF, CoBRA, Jharkhand Jaguar and district police have now intensified their anti-Naxal operation in the forest area surrounding Angadbeda, Jamaihatu, Rengrahatu and Tatibera in the past two months based on tip-offs that wanted Maoists are on the move in the areas.
On December 1, five security personnel were injured during a gunfight with the Naxal in Chota Kuia and Sarjamburu forest areas under Tonto police station limits.
Sources said a wanted Maoist, Ajay Mahato, and his squad members are on the radar of the security forces in the Tonto and Goilkera areas.