In yet another IED blast, three jawans were injured at a forest stretch on Thursday afternoon under Tonto Police Station area of West Singhbhum district.
The three jawans who were injured today belong to CoBRA battalion 209 and were identified as Saurabh Kumar, A Santosh and Amaresh Singh.
All the three injured were air-lifted in a helicopter to Ranchi where they are being treated at a hospital where their condition is stated to be out of danger.
The CRPF had on Wednesday launched a search operation on an intelligence input that a large number of naxals have anchored in a jungle near Tumbahaka village under the naxal-infested Tont area. During the search operation, the rebels suspected to be from Misir Besra’s squad of the outlawed outfit, the CPI-Maoist had triggered an IED, causing injuries to six jawans.
The official said the police and paramilitary forces have started an intensified anti-insurgency operation surrounding Goilkera. "We have started the anti-insurgency in the surrounding villages.
The administration has increased police patrolling on the bordering areas connecting to West Bengal and has also deployed an adequate number of paramilitary personnel on areas potential to rebels attack. “Every effort will be made to maintain law and order and to ensure security of the people. This time all security forces have also been alerted to remain vigilant, particularly against IEDs and landmines," said another official.
Sources informed that the mobility of the police has prevented the extremists from carrying out any violent activity in the past few days in the entire Kolhan. All the police stations in the three districts of the division including East and West Singhbhum and Seraikela Kharswan have been asked to beef up the security and keep a vigil at the bordering areas.
Meanwhile, in Ranchi district, an encounter took place between police and TPC Naxalites in Lukaiya forest of Changadha under Budhmu police station area on Thursday. However, seeing the security forces being overwhelmed, the Naxalites have fled.
Ranchi Rural SP, Noushad Alam said that the team included Jharkhand Jaguar, Special Squad of SSP, Budhmu, Thakurgaon and Pithoria police station involved in the encounter. “There is also information that two-three Naxalites were injured. At present the search operation is going on. On the spot in the team, the police force has recovered many items related to the Naxalites, in which there are some weapons, a bag, some water bottles, clothes and items of daily use,” he added.
Alam further informed that Ranchi SSP, Kaushal Kishore had received secret information that some armed men were seen between Budhmu-Thakur village and they are roaming around with the desire to execute some big incident. After this the raid was started under the leadership of Khalari DSP, he added.
The Rural SP said that the Naxalites were asked to surrender on sight but seeing the police, firing was started from their side, after which the police also fired in retaliation. “There is no definite report but it seems three militants who have been shot are being searched on a 4-5 kilometer radius. An alert has been issued in the nearby hospital. It is being speculated that the injured Naxalites are hiding in the surrounding area,” he added.