According to sources, the security personnel were returning after conducting an anti-Maoist operation in the Abujhmad region. The operation had started Friday, and on Saturday, an encounter broke out in Abujhmad, in which five Maoists and a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan were killed.

The security personnel killed Monday were identified as Head Constable Budhram Korsa and Constables Duma Markam, Pandru Ram Poyam, and Baman Sodi from the DRG, as well as Constables Somdu Vetti, Sudarshan Veti, Subarnath Yadavm and Harish Koram from the Bastar Fighters. The civilian driver was identified as Tuleshwar Rana. The DRG and Bastar Fighters are Chhattisgarh security forces mainly focused on countering Left-wing extremism, and are made up of recruits from remote villages.

The Kutru area, where the IED blast took place Monday, is near Abujhmad – an unsurveyed region, larger than the state of Goa. It is said to be the last haven for top Maoist leaders in the country.

Officials said security personnel were traveling in 12 vehicles on the Kutru-Bedre road, near Ambeli village, at around 2.15 pm Monday when Maoists triggered an IED that severely damaged one of the vehicles.

Security personnel at the site of the IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Monday. (PTI)

Sources said the vehicle was a hired private SUV, and that the impact of the explosion was such that parts of the vehicle were found a few hundred meters away from the spot of the blast. The blast also left a crater around 25-30 feet wide and 10 feet deep.

Police said Maoists were hiding in the jungle, watching the movement of the vehicles, and that just when this vehicle was passing over it, they detonated the IED.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Kamlochan Kashyap, said, “We suspect 60-70 kg of explosives were used. Forensic experts will be able to say more. The wire used to detonate it looks old and the surface above the wire had green grass on it, which indicates it was a very old IED. The road is made of concrete and bitumen.

Kashyap acknowledged that “somewhere, a mistake has been made” that led to the attack on the vehicle carrying security personnel. “We will analyze it,” he said.

A senior officer said the incident took place despite a road-opening party (ROP) having been deployed. ROPs involve security personnel checking the sides of the roads in jungles to ensure that there are no Maoists hiding before sending vehicles down that road.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai condoled the death of the eight jawans and the driver. Taking to X, he said, “The news of the martyrdom of eight soldiers along with a driver in an IED blast by Naxalites in Kutru of Bijapur district is extremely sad. My condolences are with the families of the martyrs… Naxalites are frustrated with the ongoing Naxal eradication campaign in Bastar and are getting distracted and carrying out such cowardly acts. The martyrdom of the soldiers will not go in vain, our fight to end Naxalism will continue strongly.”

In April 2023, 10 DRG personnel were killed in Aranpur, Dantewada, while returning from an operation. In the aftermath of that attack, one of the resolutions taken was to avoid moving in big vehicles and to use motorbikes instead in order to avoid large casualties.