Naxals today triggered an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, killing two police constables who were on a patrol in the forest area, police said.
The IED blast targeted the motorcycle the two policemen were riding on in the district, which borders Odisha and has witnessed a Maoist attack after a long time.
After detonating the improvised explosive device, the naxals opened fire on the police personnel, a senior official said.
The blast happened around 2.30 pm near Odh village under Mainpur police station area when a Road Opening Party of the District Force was on a patrol there, Inspector General of Police (Raipur Range) Pradeep Gupta told PTI.
Gupta identified the two dead constables as Lekhram and Bhoj Singh.
Mainpur, which falls under the Raipur police range, is about 150 km from the state capital.
A public grievances redressal camp was scheduled in Amamora village in the area on Thursday. In view of the programme, a team of police personnel was sent in the area to sanitise the route that passes through a dense forest, he said.
When the patrolling team was passing through a dirt track near Odh village, the two jawans got trapped in the blast. The IED was hidden beneath the earth, Gupta said.
One of the jawans died on the spot, while the other was seriously injured and succumbed while being moved out of the forest area, he said.
Subsequently, the naxals opened fire on security forces, who retaliated. Nut the ultras fled on finding security personnel closing on them, the IPS officer said.
On getting information about the blast and exchange of fire, reinforcement was rushed to spot, Gupta said, adding, a massive search operation has been launched in the area.
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