3 CRPF officials killed in landmine blast

Aurangabad/Patna: Three CRPF personnel were on Monday killed and eight other security officials injured when a landmine planted by Maoists in Bihar's Aurangabad district went off while it was being defused.

The incident took place ahead of the April 10 Lok Sabha polls in the Maoist-affected district. Deputy Inspector General of CRPF Chiranjeev Prasad told PTI in Patna that the three deceased were from CRPF and out of eight, excepting for the officer in-charge of Dibra police station Amar Kumar Chaudhary, seven hailed from the paramilitary force.

The deceased were Deputy Commandant Indrajeet and jawans - Pawan Dahia and T Punnarao, the DIG said. Indrajeet was sent to Ranchi Apollo Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, Prasad said. While two critically injured CRPF jawans have been sent to Ranchi Apollo Hospital, the rest six including the OC have been rushed to Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College in Gaya.

Inspector General of Police (Operation) Amit Kumar said a joint team of CRPF and Bihar police was defusing the landmine planted by ultras in Dibra police station area of Aurangabad district when it went off. The IG said two IEDs were recovered from the spot. Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) S K Bhardwaj said the incident took place when the forces were defusing landmines.