9 killed after Naxals blow up security personnel vehicle in Chhattisgarh

Guwahati, Jan 6: In a deadly attack on Monday, nine people were killed after their vehicle was blown up by a Naxalite-triggered IED blast in Bijapur district, Chhattisgarh.

The victims, including eight members of the Dantewada District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the driver, were returning from a joint anti-Naxalite operation in the regions of Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Bijapur.

The attack occurred on the Bedre-Kutru Road near Ambeli village, where the vehicle was targeted by the explosive device.

Inspector General of Bastar, P. Sundarraj, revealed that the attack occurred after a three-day anti-Naxalite operation in the Narayanpur, Dantewada, and Bijapur districts.

During the operation, five Naxals were neutralised, and one jawan had been killed. Sundarraj explained that the IED attack took place as the security team was returning from the operation.

“Our reinforcement team has been deployed in the nearby areas. We will get more information after the search operation,” he told a national newswire.

Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, while expressing grief over the deaths, noted that overall casualties among security personnel had decreased in recent times.

“We have witnessed a decrease in casualties of jawans. Overall, there are very few casualties; earlier, the casualties were higher,” the Chief Minister said, condemning the attack.

Chhattisgarh Assembly Speaker and former Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh condemned the recent Naxalite attack in Bijapur, describing it as a "cowardly act" in response to intensified anti-Naxalite operations.

“Whenever major operations are launched against them, these Naxalites resort to such attacks. I extend my condolences to the families of the brave soldiers who lost their lives,” he told a national newswire.

The attack comes a day after five Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. The clash occurred on Saturday evening (January 4) in the forests of south Abujhmaad, near the Narayanpur and Dantewada district borders, during a joint anti-Naxalite operation.

This latest incident follows an earlier attack in October 2024, when two Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel were killed in a Naxalite-planted IED explosion in Narayanpur. That blast also targeted security personnel returning from a search operation in the Abujhmaad region.