Daijiworld Media Network - Bijapur

Bijapur, Jan 26: At least 11 security personnel were injured in multiple improvised explosive device (IED) blasts at Karregutta Hills in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Sunday, police said. All the injured personnel were evacuated from the area and airlifted to Raipur for treatment. Their condition is reported to be stable.

Bijapur police said the blasts occurred during an ongoing operation in the hilly terrain, and further searches are continuing in the region.

Meanwhile, security forces have intensified anti-Naxal operations in the Bastar range. Officials said six Naxals were killed in an encounter in Bijapur district following an exchange of fire on January 17–18. The bodies of the slain Naxals were recovered along with a large cache of weapons, including two AK-47 rifles, one INSAS rifle, two .303 rifles and a BGL launcher. The total reward announced on these Naxals was Rs 27 lakh.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, P Sundarraj, said that search and cordon operations are still underway in the area to track down remaining cadres.

Earlier, on January 18, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma had announced that security forces killed four Naxals, including senior Maoist leader Dilip Bedja, during an operation in the National Park area of Bijapur district. Sharma termed the operation a major blow to Maoist activities in the region, stating that the National Park area is now almost free from Naxal presence.

On Saturday, security forces also recovered the bodies of two Maoist cadres along with automatic weapons from another encounter site in the northwestern region of Bijapur district.

Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Yadav said the operations were carried out by a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), COBRA and the Special Task Force (STF) based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of senior Maoist leaders and armed cadres in forested and hilly areas.