Two personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were killed, and two policemen were injured on Saturday in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district when Naxalites executed an improvised explosive device (IED) blast, according to police. The incident took place around noon near Kodliyar village in the Abujhmaad area while joint teams of security personnel were conducting an anti-Naxal operation.
A police official stated that the personnel from ITBP, Border Security Force (BSF), and the District Reserve Guard were involved in the operation, which had been launched from Orchha, Irakbhatti, and Mohandi areas, news agency PTI reported. The explosion occurred as patrolling teams were returning from the operation.
The injured personnel were promptly shifted to a hospital, with the official confirming, "Two ITBP personnel succumbed to injuries while the condition of the injured policemen was stated to be out of danger." The deceased have been identified as Amar Panwar (36) from Satara, Maharashtra, and K Rajesh (36) from Kadappa, Karnataka, both of whom were members of the 53rd battalion of ITBP.
According to news agency ANI, Sundarraj Pattilingam, IG, Bastar Range said, "Today two ITBP jawans lost their lives after getting injured in an IED blast executed by naxals in the forest near Kodliar village in Narayanpur district. One of the jawan is the residence of Maharashtra and the other is the residence of Andhra Pradesh...The other two injured jawans are under treatment..."
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Chhattisgarh: Congress Worker Killed By Suspected Naxalites In Narayanpur
In a separate incident on the same day, a Congress worker was attacked and killed allegedly by Naxalites in Narayanpur district. Police stated that, prima facie, the killing seems to be the work of Naxalites, though all possible angles are under investigation, PTI reported. The incident occurred around 4 pm in Usoor village when the victim, Tirupati Bhandari (35), was distributing rice to villagers at a ration shop. Unidentified assailants arrived at the scene and attacked Bhandari with sharp weapons, killing him instantly. A team from Usoor police station promptly reached the location and sent the body for post-mortem examination.
According to official sources cited by PTI, Bhandari, a native of Marudbaka village who resided in Bijapur, served as the general secretary of the Congress's Usoor block unit and had previously held the position of deputy sarpanch. Notably, between January 2023 and April 2024, nine BJP leaders were killed by Naxalites in various incidents across the Naxal-affected Bastar division, which includes seven districts, including Bijapur.