A search operation is underway in the Saranda forest of the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand to make it Naxal-free. On Friday, the search was being conducted in the dense forests of Tiralposi and Digha in the Jaraikela area. During the operation, two CRPF soldiers were injured in an IED blast. These soldiers belong to the Cobra 209 Battalion and have been identified as Ram Pravesh Singh and Chhotu Kachhap.
Both soldiers were injured in the explosion. They were airlifted from the Saranda forest to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, in serious condition. They were admitted to Raj Hospital here. Their condition is currently reported to be out of danger. After the two soldiers injured in the IED blast were admitted to the hospital in Ranchi, CRPF IG Saket Singh and Ranchi Range IG Manoj Kaushik also reached the hospital. They met the soldiers.
In a separate development, security forces have destroyed three bunkers of Naxals during the ongoing search operation against Naxals in Saranda, West Singhbhum district. Several items used daily by the Naxals were also seized from these bunkers.
Security forces had received information about the movement of Naxals in the forests of the Jaraikela police station area of West Singhbhum district. Following this input, a joint team of Chaibasa Police and Cobra 209 Battalion launched a search operation on August 7. During the operation, security forces also destroyed three bunkers built by the Naxals near Hedekuli on Friday.
During this search operation, an IED planted by Naxals exploded between Tiralposi and Digha. As a result, two soldiers of the CRPF Cobra 209 Battalion, Ram Pravesh Singh and Constable Chhotu Kachhap, were injured. Both were airlifted from Saranda forest to Raj Hospital in Ranchi for better treatment, where they are undergoing treatment.
Earlier, on April 12, an operation was being conducted against Naxals in the bordering forests of Chhotanagra and Jaraikela police stations of Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. During the operation against the Naxals by the security forces, an encounter took place between the Naxals and the security forces. During this, an IED planted by the Naxals in the forest exploded, in which Constable Sunil Dhan, a Jharkhand Jaguar jawan, was martyred, while Head Constable Vishnu Saini of Cobra 203 Battalion was seriously injured.