CRPF jawan martyred in IED blast

Bhubaneswar: A CRPF jawan was martyred following a blast during an anti-Naxal operation at Odisha-Jharkhand border on Saturday morning, officials said. ASI Satyaban Kumar Singh (34) of 134th CRPF battalion, who hailed from Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, was part of a team that was searching Saranda forest at the inter-State border for explosives robbed by Maoists from a stone quarry on May 27.

He sustained injuries on his left leg when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded around 6 am near K Balang village in Sundargarh district. He was taken to a hospital in Rourkela, where he succumbed to the injuries.

The search operation was being conducted by a joint team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Odisha Police. About 5 tonnes of explosives were robbed from a stone quarry at Banko in Sundargarh by Maoists. While three-fourths of the explosives have been recovered so far, the security forces are continuing their search for the remaining gelatin packets.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi condoled the death of the CRPF official. “Deeply saddened to know about the sacrifice of ASI Satyban Singh of CRPF in an IED blast during a combing operation at Odisha-Jharkhand border. He has set highest standard of service and courage by sacrificing his life for the security of the country. I pray for the eternal peace of the martyred jawan and express my condolences to the bereaved family,” he said in a post on X.

The incident comes at a time when the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has intensified its fight against Naxals and counter-insurgency operations against cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and other Maoist insurgents in the Red-belt corridor.

Security forces have been targeting hideouts, intercepting movement routesand working to dismantle logistical support networks used by Maoist cadres. The Saranda forest, spread across the Odisha-Jharkhand border, has been facing the brunt of Naxalism for several years.

While security operations have significantly reduced Naxal presence in many areas, pockets like Saranda continue to witness sporadic violence and pose operational challenges toforces deployed on the ground.