New Delhi: Ten security officials and their driver were killed in a blast carried out by suspected Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada on Wednesday, April 26.
The explosion was affected with an improvised explosive device and blew up the mini van in which they were travelling.
State chief minister Bhupesh Baghel tweeted the news with details, calling it “very sad.”
“The news of the martyrdom of our 10 DRG jawans and a driver due to IED blast on the DRG force which had arrived for anti-Naxal operation on the information of the presence of Maoist cadre under Aranpur police station area of Dantewada is very sad.
“We, the people of the state, pay our respects to them. We all share in the grief of their families. May their souls rest in peace.”
दंतेवाड़ा के थाना अरनपुर क्षेत्र अंतर्गत माओवादी कैडर की उपस्थिति की सूचना पर नक्सल विरोधी अभियान के लिए पहुंचे डीआरजी बल पर आईईडी विस्फोट से हमारे 10 डीआरजी जवान एवं एक चालक के शहीद होने का समाचार बेहद दुखद है।
हम सब प्रदेशवासी उन्हें अपनी श्रद्धांजलि अर्पित करते हैं। उनके…
— Bhupesh Baghel (@bhupeshbaghel) April 26, 2023
The ‘DRG force’ mentioned in Baghel’s tweet is the District Reserve Guard tasked with anti-Maoist operations.
The incident happened at around 1 pm, the IGP told PTI.
“TV visuals from a local news channel showed a huge crater, almost 10-feet deep, splitting the road at the site. The vehicle was completely destroyed in the attack while bodies covered with plastic sheets were also seen in the video,” the news agency has reported.
In April 2021, 22 security officers were killed in a Maoist ambush on the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh.