NEW DELHI – After a deadly bomb blast in Manipur India killing and injuring4 Indian Army soldiers now another incident of blast has hit Indiansecurity forces.
Two BSF personnel, including an assistant commandant, were killed after anIED explosion following which an exchange of fire broke out betweensecurity personnel and Maoists in Raoghat area of Kanker district onWednesday, Indian Express has reported.
Senior police officials said assistant commandant Gajendra Singh andconstable Amresh Kumar were leading one column of armymen that came underattack, and suffered splinter injuries after a series of IED explosions.
KL Dhruv, Superintendent of Police, Kanker district, told the IndianExpress that a team of BSF and the Chhattisgarh Police had launched anoperation on March 6.
“This was a team of the 134 battalion, and close to 250 to 300 personnel,including the Chhattisgarh Police, were involved in the operation. Around 4pm, near the village Maspur, in the Raoghat police station limits, therewere IED blasts and then an exchange of fire that lasted well over anhour,” he said.
Senior BSF officials said eight separate teams had launched an operationfor three days to flush out Maoists in the general area of the Matlareserve forest, on the border between Kanker and Kondagaon districts.
On March 6, BSF officials said parties had spotted Maoists who fled,leaving behind a radio set, flexible electric wire and steel containers.“On the 7th, a series of IED blasts took place and heavy fire was opened bythe Maoists.
The parties took position and retaliated effectively. But the partycommander Gajendra Singh and constable Amresh who were in the leadingcolumn sustained splinter injuries from the blast. They were given medicalaid but succumbed to their wounds. The exchange of fire lasted two hours,”a BSF official said.
Senior police officers said that given the ferocity of the firing, it wasprobable that the Maoists had also suffered casualties but no bodies wererecovered, and that searching operations were still on. While GajendraSingh is from Haryana, Constable Amresh Kumar is from Bihar, SP KL Dhruvsaid.