Chaibasa (Jharkhand): Two CRPF jawans of a CoBRA battalion suffered serious injuries in separate improvised explosive device blasts inside Saranda forest in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district during a search operation on Sunday, a police officer said.

The IEDs were suspected to have been planted by Maoists.

West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Amit Renu told PTI that the two CoBRA battalion jawans were part of a team engaged in the search operation against Maoists in the Saranda forest when the IEDs exploded.

"Both jawans have been airlifted to a private hospital in Ranchi for better treatment after receiving basic treatment at the CRPF barrack," the SP said.

The two injured men have been identified as head constable Alok Das and sepoy Narayan Das.

The SP said, "It is an act of desperation by the Maoists. We will intensify the search operations in the Saranda forest."

PTI