Making their presence felt once again, the Maoists on Saturday exploded land mines killing one JAP (Jharkhand Armed Police) jawan at Furkoghoda under Ghudabandha police station of East Singhbhum, about 70 km from here. Another jawan was injured during the blast.
The victim Prashant Rai, a jawan of JAP 1, was on duty when the blast took place. According to information, the jawans were patrolling when the land mines exploded. Rai lost his life while another jawan Deven Pradhan was rushed to RIMS, Ranchi for treatment.
“The security personnel were on regular duty when the incident occurred. Though, paying attention to the potential land mines is a common practice in this area but this time the changed strategy of the extremists has caused loss of life to us,” said SP (Rural) Devendra Thakur.
Meanwhile, senior police officials have rushed to the spot and launched a massive operation to track down the ultras. Sources said that the Maoists intentionally chose the festive time to grab attention.
The landmines were planted to target the security personnel involved in anti-Maoist operation and were connected with codex wire, the SP said. The security personnel have been continuously patrolling the Maoist-hit areas, including Ghatshila and Bahragora police stations forcing the ultras to be on their toes.