Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh): One security personnel was killed and two others injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by Naxalites in the National Park area of Bijapur district on Monday, according to a senior police official.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, P. Sundarraj, stated that the explosion occurred during a morning anti-Maoist operation being carried out by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in the forested region of Bijapur.

One DRG jawan, Dinesh Nag, was martyred in the blast, while three others sustained injuries. The injured personnel are said to be in stable condition and out of danger. They were administered first aid at the site and are currently being evacuated for further medical treatment.

Further details will be shared upon conclusion of the ongoing operation.

Earlier, on August 14, security forces neutralised two high-ranking Naxal operatives carrying a combined reward of ₹1.16 crore during a gun battle in Chhattisgarh’s Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district.

Vijay Reddy, a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) with a bounty of ₹90 lakh, and Lokesh Salame, Secretary of the Rajnandgaon-Kanker Border Division, with a reward of ₹26 lakh on his head, were killed during a joint operation conducted on August 13 by the Chhattisgarh Police, the DRG, and the 27th Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in the insurgency-affected region.

According to an ITBP statement, the gun battle erupted during a coordinated anti-Naxal operation. “Security forces had been tracking the movement of the duo in the dense forest belt when the exchange of fire broke out,” the statement read.

Officials have described the neutralisation of Reddy and Salame as a significant setback to Naxalite activities in the Dandakaranya region and along the Rajnandgaon-Kanker border. Arms and other Naxal-related materials were recovered from the encounter site.

The two deceased militants had been among the most wanted leaders in the North Bastar region for over two decades.

ANI