Jul 18, 2024 09:32 AM IST
The Chhattisgarh Police identified the two as Bharat Sahu and Satyer Singh Kange and said they were part of a team of security forces returning after a search operation
Two police constables were killed and four others wounded when suspected Maoists detonated an improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Tarrem in Chhattisgarh’s Left-wing insurgency-hit Bijapur amid heightened anti-Maiost operations that have left at least 139 insurgents dead this year.
In a statement, the Chhattisgarh Police identified the two as Bharat Sahu and Satyer Singh Kange, and said they were part of a team of security forces that was returning after a search operation on Wednesday when the IED went off. It added that the team was rushed for the operation after security forces were tipped off about the presence of Maoists of Darbha Division, West Bastar Division, and Military Company Number 2 in an area between Bijapur, Dantewada, and Sukma.
Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, or CoBRA, a special operation unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trained in guerrilla tactics and jungle warfare, was part of the joint search operation. “Additional security forces have been sent to the area and necessary arrangements have been made for proper treatment of the injured STF [Special Task Force] jawans,” the statement said.
The constables were killed on the day Maharashtra Police killed 12 Maoists on Wednesday near Jarabandi, which borders Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district.
On July 9, security forces killed a woman Maoist in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, taking the number of Maoists killed in the state this year to 139. Of them, 137 Maoists have been killed in the Bastar division alone. The division is spread over seven districts, including Kanker.
