Gariaband (Chhattisgarh) [India], June 1 (HBTV): A Bomb Disposal Squad of the security forces on Sunday successfully destroyed two 5 kg Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by Naxalites in the forests of Gaurmund village in Chhattisgarh, police said.

The operation was carried out as part of the ongoing anti-Naxal campaign. Acting on intelligence inputs about Naxalite presence in the forest under the Thana Mainpur area, a joint team of the district force and F Company of the 65th Battalion of the CRPF, led by Assistant Commandant Sudhir Kumar, launched a search operation in the region.

During the operation, the team detected and neutralised two cooker bombs planted by the Maoists with the intent to harm security personnel. In addition to the IEDs, the forces also recovered solar plates, wires, utensils, and other Naxal-related materials from the forest.

In a separate development, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Sunday virtually inaugurated a branch of Indian Overseas Bank in Jagargunda, Sukma district. This move is expected to benefit nearly 14,000 people from 12 nearby villages and is seen as a significant step towards financial inclusion in a region long affected by Left-wing extremism.

According to an official release, the bank branch will provide formal banking access to the people of Jagargunda for the first time after decades of Naxal influence.

‘The opening of a bank branch in Jagargunda is a victory of democracy and development over extremism. The double-engine government is committed to revitalising Bastar and is ensuring that the wave of change reaches every village,’ CM Sai said while addressing the gathering from his official residence.

The Chief Minister underlined that the combined impact of security measures, developmental initiatives, and public trust is helping the villages of Bastar move away from the influence of Naxalism and rejoin the mainstream of development.

(ANI)