C’garh: Tribal’s House Used As IED Dump By Maoists, 2 Women Injured When It Goes Off

Raipur: An improvised explosive device (IED), hidden in a tribal’s house in a village in Sukma district in Bastar in Chhattisgarh by Maoists, went off causing grievous injuries to two women, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place in the village of Bhimapuram under Jagargunda in the district on Sunday, a delayed report reaching here on Tuesday said.

The two injured tribal women were admitted to the local hospital.

However, one of them, identified as Madkam Sukki, was airlifted to Raipur for treatment on Tuesday when her condition worsened.

“One of her legs was badly injured in the blast. She may survive, but may lose her leg”, deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma who holds home portfolio said after visiting her in the hospital here on Tuesday.

According to the police, there was a huge blast in the house of the victims, leading the villagers to rush to the place.

The villagers found the two women being hit by the IED explosion, police said.

Later, the police admitted the two injured women to the local hospital after learning about the incident.

Madkam however had to be airlifted to Raipur for better treatment when her condition worsened, police said.

The incident has led to the exposure that Maoists are using tribals’ houses in Naxal strongholds as their explosive dump, a senior police officer of Sukma district said.

Mr Sharma said that at least half-a-dozen tribals at different places in Bastar were grievously injured when they stepped on the IEDs planted by Maoists at strategic places to target security forces.

Maoists have planted IEDs across Bastar to target security forces, but the local innocent tribals are being hit by IED explosions, he lamented.