Two CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant, were martyred and at least eight security personnel injured, in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in Sukma district here on Sunday. The injured have been shifted to a hospital in Raipur for treatment, police said.
The incident occurred between 10 am and 11 am in a densely forested patch near Bodhrajpadar village about 8 km under Bhejji police station limits, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Sukma, Neeraj Chandrakar informed over telephone, adding, that a joint force consisting of 217 and 219 battalion of CRPF along with STF and district police were on an anti-Naxal operation in the region.
Deputy Commandant 219 CRPF battalion Nihal Alam and Constable Rajiv Rawat of the same unit were killed in the blast, the ASP said. He said that the joint team consisted of 400 heavily armed jawans. When asked if any exchange of fire with Maoists took place with the security forces after the blast, the ASP informed that no gun battle occurred following the blast. After the blast, two helicopters were sent to retrieve the injured jawans from the spot, Chandrakar said. The injured were identified as Deputy Commander Ratneshwar 219 CRPF battalion, Additional Sub Inspector (district police) Hriday Ram Verma who is also the In-charge of Bhejji police station, Constable Pramod Malkar, Head Constable Mahesh Kumar Sharma, Constable Jitendra Behra, Constable Dinesh Yadav, Constable PK Mohanti all belonging to 219 CRPF battalion and Assistant Constable Nehrulal Kashyap of the district police.