Bhubaneswar: A number of jawans of the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Odisha police were on Thursday reportedly injured as suspected Maoists triggered blasting improvised explosive device (IED) during combing operation in Nalikumpa jungle under Kantamal block in Odisha’s Boudh district.
Following the explosion, the injured jawans were shifted to Kantamal Community Health Centre (CHC) for treatment. They were later taken to Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Bolangir. While one jawan sustained injuries to his head, another suffered serious wounds on his leg.
Reports last came said two jawans were airlifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar as they sustained critical injuries.
According to reports from the blast site, a 30-member team of SOG jawans was carrying out combing operation exercises in Nalikumpa jungle to flush out Maoists from the area. However, they fell victims to the IED planted by the ultras.
In another case of Maoist violence, the ultras slit the throat of a water resource department employee at Orchha under Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, killing him on the spot.
The deceased was identified as Iqbal Miyan.
Maoist posters were also recovered from the spot.
Earlier on January 23, an encounter between security forces and Maoist ultras had taken place in Nalikumpa jungle on January 23.
While a Maoist camp was destroyed by the police after the gunfight, the security forces also seized a huge cache of arms and explosives including land mines from the camp.
Notably, the Maoists have reportedly made the jungles between Boudh and Kandhmal districts their den. The security forces regularly conduct search and combing operations in the jungle to weed out the ultras from the area.
