An officer of the CRPF’s jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, was killed while nine commandos were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by Naxals in the Sukma district, in Chhattisgarh, security officials said on Sunday.
Inspector General of Police (IG) Bastar, Sunderaj P, reported that a team of CoBRA was out for anti-naxal operation late on Saturday night when eight personnel, including two senior officials, were injured in an IED blast triggered by the Maoists. An Assistant Commandant of Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) was killed in the blast. Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) 206 battalion of CRPF, suffered injuries in the blast near the Tadmetla area in Sukma, while nine other commandos, including a second-in-command rank officer, were injured and have been admitted to a local hospital.
The incident took place around 10 pm on Saturday when a team of security forces was returning after conducting a search operation against naxal in the forest near Tadmetla village. They said the improvised explosive device blast took place in the Chintafuga forest area of the district and the injured personnel are being evacuated by a helicopter. Police said that 8 of 10 jawans were taken to Raipur for better treatment. The injured troops belong to the 206th battalion of the Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA). A joint team of CoBRA and local police was out in the area for a special operation when the explosion took place, they said. Police said that other seven are out of danger.
