CRPF Officer Injured in IED Blast in Naxal-Affected West Singhbhum Village

Assistant Sub-Inspector Devendra Katkari of the 60th Battalion of CRPF was injured in an IED blast during a special operation against CPI-Maoist insurgents in West Singhbhum.

CHAIBASA – A CRPF officer was injured in an IED blast in a Naxal-affected village under Goilkera police station area of West Singhbhum on Monday morning.

The officer, identified as Devendra Katkari, was caught in the blast while patrolling an unpaved road in Meralgeda village of Goilkera.

31-year-old Katkari, who suffered thigh injuries, was initially taken to Chakradharpur Railway Hospital but was later shifted to Chaibasa Sadar Hospital for better treatment.

According to police sources, the condition of the injured officer, posted as an Assistant Sub-Inspector in the 60th Battalion of CRPF, is out of danger.

The police and paramilitary forces are currently conducting a special operation against CPI-Maoist insurgents who have been planting an unspecified number of IEDs in the dense Kolhan and Porahat forest divisions since January this year.

Approximately 20 paramilitary personnel have been injured in the operation so far, many of them seriously in IED blasts.

In addition, about a dozen villagers have also been killed in the blasts.

SDPO Kapil Chaudhary of Podahat Chakradharpur confirmed the incident.