CRPF Jawan Loses Leg, Another Injured in Maoist IED Blast in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada
Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district witnessed another grim reminder of the dangers faced by security forces in anti-Maoist operations, when two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were severely injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion on Thursday morning.
The blast, which occurred near Malwahi, left one jawan without a leg and another battling serious eye injuries.
The incident unfolded around 10:30 a.m. during an area domination exercise by troops of the CRPF’s 195th Battalion.
The team had set out from their police camp towards Malwahi, located near the sprawling and largely unsurveyed Maoist bastion of Abujhmad.
Constable Alam Munesh, 33, attached to the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), was at the front of the column with a sniffer dog, followed closely by Inspector Diwan Singh Gurjar, 41.
As they advanced into the forest, Munesh accidentally triggered a pressure-activated IED buried about 50–100 metres from the roadside near Satdhar bridge.
The powerful blast tore through Munesh’s leg, causing life-threatening injuries, while shrapnel hit Inspector Gurjar in the face and eye. Both men were airlifted to Raipur for emergency treatment. Doctors later amputated Munesh’s left leg to save his life. Gurjar, meanwhile, is being shifted to AIIMS Delhi for advanced eye surgery.
Security officials say the use of pressure IEDs by Maoists remains one of the deadliest challenges in the Bastar region, despite intensified counter-insurgency measures. In fact, since 2024, security forces have already recovered and neutralised over 1,000 such devices in the state.
The Union government has set an ambitious deadline to eliminate Left Wing Extremism from Chhattisgarh by March 2026, with operations across Bastar being significantly scaled up since last year.
The campaign has led to the deaths of more than 460 Maoists in encounters over the past two years. However, the toll on security forces and civilians continues to be high — official data records 39 personnel and 107 civilians killed in Maoist-related violence in the same period.
Thursday’s incident underscores both the successes and the steep human cost of the ongoing offensive, as security forces continue to navigate heavily mined terrain in their bid to weaken Maoist strongholds.
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