Jawan killed in IED blast in Chhattisgarh; two injured

A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was killed and two others were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district Sunday, police said.

The incident took place between Bhejji and Elarmadgu villages when a team of the DRG, the state police's anti-Naxal force, was conducting a search operation, Sukma Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Meena told PTI.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest between Bheji and Elarmadgu, located around 500 km from state capital Raipur, the rebels triggered the blast, he said.

"Assistant Constable Karram Dara was seriously injured in the explosion, while two others sustained minor injuries," Meena said, adding that reinforcement was rushed to the spot immediately.

"Dara succumbed to his injuries while being airlifted to Raipur. The two other injured jawans were admitted at (a hospital in) Raipur and said to be out of danger," he said.

An operation was underway to trace the ultras involved in the attack, the SP added.

IEDs or home-made bombs are frequently used by Maoists to target security personnel in Chhattisgarh.

Sukma was among the over half-a-dozen districts, most of them Naxal-affected, where polling was held in the first phase of the Chhattisgarh Assembly election on November 12.

The first phase of the polls covered 18 of the 90 Assembly seats in the state and the remaining constituencies will vote on November 20 in the second and final round of polling in the state. The election results will be announced on December 11.