Thiruvananthapuram: Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including a Malayali, were killed after Naxalites blew up a truck with an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Sunday.
The deceased Keralite, Vishnu R, 35, was a native of Palode in Thiruvananthapuram. He was part of the CRPF’s jungle warfare unit CoBRA as a driver.
The blast took place around 3 pm near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of security forces, over 400 km from the state capital Raipur, a senior police official told PTI. An advance party of the 201st unit of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) had launched patrolling from Silger camp under Jagargunda police station limits as a part of its Road Opening Party duty towards Tekalgudem, the official said.
“The security personnel were in a truck and on motorcycles. Naxalites triggered an IED blast targeting the truck that claimed the lives of constable Shailendra (29) and the vehicle driver Vishnu R (35),” he said.
“After being alerted about the blast, more forces were rushed to the spot and the bodies were being evacuated from the forest. A search operation is underway in the area, he added,” the official added.
(With PTI inputs)
