In yet another incident a CRPF jawan was injured in a landmine blast during the anti-naxal operation in the Bulbul Forest area under Peshrar police station of Lohardaga district on Saturday.
The injured jawan was flown to Ranchi and admitted to Medica hospital where his condition is stable.
“The incident took place around 3 PM and the injured jawan is from 209th CoBRA battalion of the CRPF. He was flown to Ranchi in a special chopper. During the search operation, the jawan accidentally landed upon a landmine,” said a senior police official.
The police and the CRPF are learnt to have encounters with the armed squads of the CPI (Maoist). As many as 400 CRPF jawans and State police have been pressed in the anti-naxal operation in the forest area of Gumla and Lohardaga. Security forces got inputs about the movement of self-styled regional commander of the CPI (Maoist) Rabindra Gonjhu. Police had information that Gonjhu and his armed squad were moving in the forest area of Peshrar. A large number of police and CRPF personnel were pressed into action and a helicopter was also stationed for any emergency situation.
About the incident, sources said that the security forces busted a bunker of CPI (Maoist) in the forest area. The bunker was used as a hideout as well as to manufacture explosives.
In the area where the bunker was located security forces were carrying out a search operation when a landmine exploded causing injury to the jawan.
In the last 32 hours, this is the second case of a landmine explosion causing injury to security forces. On Friday two jawans of the CRPF Dilip Kumar (29) and Narayan Das (38) were injured in the blast. They were flown to Medica hospital in Ranchi where they are undergoing treatment. However, Dilip lost his leg where another jawan suffered injuries on his waist.
The CRPD team was returning after the operation at Bisunpur in Gumla district when the explosion took place in the morning. Narayan Das is a native of Odisha whereas Dilip is a native of Jammu.
“That much we know that Rabindra Gonjhu is holed-up in the forest area and we are inching close to him. The operation will continue,” said a senior official.
Bulbul forest is among few areas Maoists are left to hide where Rabindra Gonjhu is mostly active. He has carpeted the forest area with landmines to keep civilians and security forces away.
In December last year in a landmine blast at the Dundru Chapal forest area in Lohardaga a villager Supal Turi died. Earlier, in the same forest area a jawan Duleshwar Paras had died in the landmine blast at Dundru on February 16 last year. In June last year, a villager had died after he accidentally landed upon a landmine at Bulbul forest area.
