Chaibasa (Jharkhand): Left wing extremists outfit on Tuesday triggered IED blast, killing a 23-year-old villager in a forest near village Meralgada under Goilkera police station of extremist-affected West Singhbhum district.
The explosion took place when the victim Harish Chandra Gope, a native of Meralgada village, went into the forest to collect firewood, Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Shekhar said.
The district police force and Cobra, CRPF and Jharkhand Jaguar reached the spot on being informed of the incident and recovered the body.
The naxals are desperate as the ongoing operation against ultra groups producing desirable result since it was launched in core Kolhan area of the district for over a month.
SP expressed condolence over the death of a villager and assured to continue the operation to protect the lives of rural masses.
The Maoists have planted IEDs at several places in the forest to hamper the operation but in vain.
Terming the act of the rebels as “cowardice”, SP said Maoists had also uprooted a tree and put it across the road at Aarahasa road near Rengarbeda village within an intention to disrupt road traffic. They also tagged posters and banners against the operation last night.
The security forces also detected unclaimed wires and an IED-contained box on Ichahatu main road but it turned out to be a hoax.
The security forces cleared the road near Ichahatu village situated between Kuira and Soitaba camps.
About couple of months ago, two villagers had been killed in similar fashion in Tonto police station of West Singhbhum.
