Ranchi: Three CRPF soldiers were injured after an IED planted by Naxalites in Chaibasa town of Jharkhand went off on Thursday. The soldiers, who belong to the Cobra battalion of the paramilitary force, were airlifted to Ranchi with sources saying the condition of one of them is critical. The trio has been identified as Amresh Singh, Saurabh Kumar, and Santosh Singh.
A similar incident took place on Wednesday in the same area in which six paramilitary troopers were injured. They too were airlifted to Ranchi for medical treatment. Thursday's incident happened in Tonto of Chaibasa. Chaibasa SP Ashutosh Shekhar said that a major anti-Naxal operation is going on in the ravines of Sarjanburu of the Tonto police station area.
The hunt for Naxalite commander Misir Besra, who carries a reward of Rs 1 crore, is going on, according to the SP. The operation is on since Wednesday after police and paramilitary acted upon intel reports of the Naxal leader passing through the area.
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Soon after the IED blasts, the security forces intensified the search operation in the area though the terrain is quite thick and it is difficult to comb it entirely. As for the injured jawans, as soon as the three reached Ranchi, they were immediately brought from the helipad to Medica Hospital by ambulance.
This is the same hospital where six jawans injured in Wednesday's IED blast are being treated. Sources said that the majority of them have splinter injuries and except for one, the rest are out of danger.
Significantly, on Wednesday, acting upon the information about the gathering of Naxalites at one place, the soldiers of the Cobra 209 battalion began a joint operation with the district police. As soon as the search operation started, the Naxalites opened fire on the security forces, which was effectively retaliated. Amid heavy firing, the Naxals tried to flee into the woods. As the security forces chased them. the IED planted in the forest exploded injuring six jawans.
