Chhattisgarh: Assistant Platoon Commander killed in Naxal-led IED blast in Bijapur

An officer of the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces (CAF) was killed by unidentified Naxals in an explosion triggered by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on Monday in the state's insurgency-hit Bijapur district, said the police.

The deceased officer has been identified as Assistant Platoon Commander Vijay Yadav (58).

The incident took place between Temenar and Etepal area this morning, said a police officer. Further, the police also informed that the officer was belonging to the 19th battalion of CAF's D-Company and was a native of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the police, a team of security personnel were out on an area domination exercise on Monday morning from Mirtur police station and when they reached a forest patch between Temenar and Etepal, the officer accidentally stepped over an IED placed by the Naxals resulting in an explosion.

Further information is awaited. Earlier, an encounter broke out between a joint party of Indo-Tibetan Border Police and District Reserve Guard and Naxals in the forest area of Chote Burgum in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Sunday, officials said.

The Naxals fled the area taking advantage of forest cover, officials said. During a search operation in the area, the security forces recovered two IEDs which were later defused at the spot.

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