CAF Assistant Platoon Commander Dies In Naxal-Orchestrated IED Blast In Chhattisgarh

Assistant Platoon Commander Vijay Yadav, belonging to CAF's 19th battalion, inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED connection triggering the blast.

A Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawan was killed on Monday in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast which was planted by Naxalites in the Bijapur district.

The unfortunate incident occurred at around 7:40 am between Etepal and Timenar villages under the jurisdiction of the Mirtur police station. At the time of the incident, CAF teams were out on an area domination operation to ensure security for road construction work in the area, reported news agency PTI.

The CAF jawan inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED connection triggering the blast.

An official while talking to PTI said that separate teams of CAF had been sent out from its Etepal and Timenar camps. He said, "When one of the patrolling teams was advancing through the area, Assistant Platoon Commander Vijay Yadav, belonging to CAF's 19th battalion, inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED connection triggering the blast, leading to his death."

The body of Yadav, who was a resident of Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh, was brought to Bhairmagarh, he added.

Earlier, Amit Shah on Sunday visited Jagdalpur's Naxal-hit area Bastar. He visited a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) CoBRA camp which was set up last year inside Sukma which is a core territory of CPI (Maoist). The purpose of his visit was to get a first-hand assessment of how the development and welfare push is actually playing out on the ground.

Shah gave a loud and clear message to all anti-Naxal forces. He said, "Help reach the fruits of development to tribals and locals that have suffered years of neglect due to fear of the gun, and win over their trust with clean and good governance," reported the Times Of India.