Four CRPF jawans injured in IED blast

Four CRPF personnel were today injured in a series of IED blasts carried out by Naxals in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand.
Officials said the incident occurred near Topchanchi-Jitpur axis when bike-borne troops of the force were out on patrol in the Left Wing Extremism affected areas of the district.
"Four troops have been injured after a series of IED blasts occurred in the area. The team was led by a senior officer in the rank of Second-in-command.The injuries are not critical," they said.
CRPF troops belonging to the 154th battalion, along with those from state police, were out for a Long Range Patrol when they encountered a series of IED blasts around 1215 PM.

Reinforcements have reached the spot and the injured are being evacuated to a nearby hospital, they said.
Jharkhand DGP D K Pandey and senior officials are reaching the spot, they added.

A senior CRPF officer said the force is creating an
institutional mechanism and will bring out a new policy wherein all such gallant and differently-abled personnel will be posted together to pursue sporting or any other activity of their choice and all required facilities will be provided to them.
"CRPF is the lead force for anti-Naxal operations and other internal security duties in the country and the idea is that injuries should not affect the morale of our troops. With this latest success of the cycling expedition, we are clear that sky is the limit," the officer said.

Apart from these measures, the officer said, the force has also asked the government to hike the present ceiling of Rs 72,000 granted to procure an artificial limb.
"Prosthetic or artificial limbs are costly and at present the deficit amount over Rs 72,000 is met by the forces' welfare fund. The government has been requested to hike this ceiling to the actual cost of the limb or any such device required by an injured troop on a case-to-case basis as there are a number of cases in the force and other CAPFs.
"This decision, once approved, will act as a morale booster for those who do not think twice before putting their lives at stake in the line of duty," he said.

Deputy Commandant R K Singh, the first blade runner among the CAPFs, said the cycling expedition that started from Shimla on August 5 was a challenge for them and three other officials from the Border Security Force as they had to encounter sudden weather changes, bad roads and steep climb.
"But we kept going for all the ten days either humming songs or talking to each other during the journey. We too didn't believe that we could finish the expedition till we finally achieved it," he said.
Singh was awarded the 'Shaurya Chakra' for his brave exploits during an anti-Naxal operation in 2011 in Jharkhand and he went on to run a marathon on special blades a few years back.

Constable Birbhadra Singh who lost his left leg in a train accident in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia in 2013 too undertook numerous sessions before he took the cycling challenge on the call of his seniors who knew "he could do it".
"We have now sought permission to train for expedition to Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak. As of now, that is the biggest challenge we can take," Birbhadra, posted with CRPF's special riot-control unit RAF in Allahabad, said.