A police jawan was injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) laid by Maoists exploded in restive Dantewada district of Bastar, police said.
A team of security personnel led by Dantewada’s Superintendent of Police (SP) Kamlochan Kashyap was patrolling in Katekalyan area last night when the IED exploded, police said.
As the policemen was cordoning off the road between Metapal and Gatam villages, they found a Naxal banner in support of the ‘martyrdom week’, he said.
Constable laxmaih was trying to remove the banner when the pressure IED planted behind it exploded, leaving him injured, the official said.
The injured jawan, belonging to the district force and deputed as a follow guard of the Dantewada SP, sustained minor splinter injuries on his hand, he said. The jawan was immediately rushed to a local hospital where his condition was said to be stable, he said.
Maoists are observing a ‘Martyrdom Week’ from today to August 3. Security has been beefed up in forests of all the seven districts of Bastar division – Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Sukma and Kanker in view of 'Maoist Week', the official said.