Impassioned scenes of grief were witnessed as wreaths were laid on Tuesday at the mortal remains of eight police personnel and a civilian driver killed in a blast carried out by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, other senior state leaders and the inconsolable family members of the deceased paid homage at the wreath-laying ceremony here, amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram’. The family members of the deceased, including women and children, were seen crying as women security personnel tried to console them.

Chief Minister Sai, Deputy CM Vijay Sharma and Director General of Police Ashok Juneja lent their shoulders to the mortal remains of jawans as they were shifted to vehicles to transport them to the native places of the deceased.

In their biggest strike on security forces in Chhattisgarh in two years, Naxalites on Monday blew up the security personnel’s vehicle using a 60-70 kg improvised explosive device (IED) near Ambeli village under Kutru police station area in Bijapur district.

Eight security personnel, four each from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters units, travelling in the SUV and the vehicle’s driver died on the spot, located around 70 km from Bijapur district headquarters. “Naxalites have become frustrated due to which they have committed such a cowardly act. I pay my tribute to the martyred jawans and the civilian driver. The sacrifices of our jawans will not go in vain. They sacrificed their lives to establish peace in Chhattisgarh and in the country. We will, indeed, be successful in establishing peace,” Sai added. Juneja and CRPF DG Vitul Kumar visited the site in Bijapur district where eight security personnel and a civilian driver were killed. Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P and senior CRPF officials accompanied Director General Kumar, as per officials.

A day after the incident in Bijapur, security forces on Tuesday recovered a 10 kg improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, police said. A team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police found the explosive device near Belpochcha village on the Konta-Golapalli road, an official said.

He said during a de-mining exercise on the route, security personnel spotted the IED planted beneath the road and averted a major mishap.