Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) [India], July 19 (HBTV): Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast on the Timapur–Murdanda road under the Awapalli police station area in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. The IED was reportedly planted by Maoists.

The jawans, who were on duty at the time of the incident, received initial first aid and were shifted to the district hospital in Bijapur for further treatment.

Earlier, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma stated that a uniform-clad Naxal was killed during a search operation by security forces in the Bijapur district.

Speaking to ANI, Deputy CM Sharma said, ‘Search operations are going on. Union Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly appealed to those who carry weapons and hinder development to return to the mainstream. A uniform-bearing Naxal was killed during an encounter in Bijapur on July 6.’

On July 5, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai affirmed that the state would soon be free from Naxal violence, with all necessary infrastructure reaching the affected areas.

‘Our state is rich in every sense. About 44 per cent of the land is forested. The soil is fertile, and our farmers are hardworking. Naxalism was a major obstacle to our progress, but we are overcoming it. For those Naxals who have surrendered, we have designed an excellent rehabilitation policy. Soon, Chhattisgarh will be free from Naxal violence, and regions like Bastar will have roads, electricity, drinking water, and all basic amenities,’ CM Sai said.

On the same day, a police official confirmed that one Naxal was killed in an encounter with the Dantewada–Bijapur District Reserve Guard (DRG) in the forested area of Indravati National Park, located on the Bijapur–Dantewada district border.

(ANI)