At least 11 security personnel sustained severe injuries and had to be airlifted to Ranchi on Tuesday morning after the outlawed CPI (Maoist) triggered an IED blast atop a hill in Kuchai jungle of Saraikela Kharsawan district. The attack comes days after the rebel outfit targeted jawans of the Special Assault Force (SAF) in the same district on May 20 which caused injuries to three jawans.
The rebels triggered a single IED on a road at Kuchai jungle targeting a joint team of CoBRA, Jharkhand Jaguar and district police at about 4.45 am while it was carrying out an anti-insurgency operation in a CPI (Maoist) den.
Out of tche 11 security personnel who sustained injuries, eight belong to the 209 CoBRA battalion, two are from the Jharkhand Jaguar and one jawan is from the district police. Soon after the IED blast, a chopper airlifted the injured jawans and brought to Ranchi’s Medica Superspecialty Hospital for treatment.
Doctors at the hospital initially said that three jawans were critically injured; however, by afternoon all the jawans were said to be out of danger.
Director General of Police (DGP) DK Pandey said that the IED was planted by the insurgents to disrupt the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand, but triggered on Tuesday.
“All the injured security personnel have been airlifted and brought to Ranchi for treatment. Our combing operation will continue in the area to neutralize the rebels responsible for the attack,” Pandey said.
Seraikela-Kharsawan superintendent of police, Chandan Sinha said that the CPI (Maoist) squad of Mahraj Pramanik that had triggered serial blasts on May 20 might have triggered the attack on Tuesday as well.
"As per our investigation the spot where the IED was planted today is about six kms away from the location of the serial blast triggered on May 20. The rebels opened fire at the paramilitary forces, and the forces retaliated," said Sinha.
A day after the May 20 attack, the police had started an extensive operation against the rebels at Kharsawan and Kuchai area, he added.
"They were on their regular vigil. The troops were searching for the Maoist hideouts in the jungle when the IED was triggered," said Sinha, adding that a combing operation was on in the area and soon the police will have updates on the casualties reported in the Maoist camp.
The attack, he said, may have been planned by the rebel outfit in a bid to make their presence felt in the district.
"The rebels failed to hinder the just concluded Lok Sabha polls, so they resorted to the IED blasts for making their presence felt in the district where they used to have considerable influence earlier. The special operation, involving over 2,000 forces and police which has begun after the Kharsawan serial blast will continue and stop only after the rebels are wiped out of the district," asserted the SP.
Meanwhile, the administration has increased police patrolling on the bordering areas connecting West Bengal and has also deployed adequate number of paramilitary personnel on areas prone to attacks. “Every effort will be made to maintain law and order and to ensure security of the people.