Bijapur: An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded in the Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh on Monday. This incident occurred when the security forces were removing the Maoist banner between the villages of Awapalli and Ilmidi. One jawan of the state police got injured during the blast. Bijapur is one of the districts in Chhattisgarh affected by Left-wing Extremism.
Just last month, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer was killed and a constable was injured in an exchange of fire with naxals in the district. Last year, at least 22 security personnel were killed and 31 suffered serious injuries following an exchange of fire between forces and Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. The operation was launched based on intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists of PLGA (Peoples’ Liberation Guerilla Army) Battalion No. 1 led by Hidma, a Naxal commander involved in many deadly attacks on security forces.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah had then chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in Chhattisgarh. He had said that they would not tolerate this bloodshed and would give a befitting reply at an “appropriate time”. He had said that their fight against the Naxalites would continue with “strength, perseverance and intensity” and that they would take it to the end.