In response to the Naxal-led attack on nine CRPF personnel in Sukma the Chief Minister Raman Singh issued a clarification. He said that the improvised explosive device (IED) blast was a retaliating step to a recent encounter.
Singh told the reporters, “The background of this blast in Sukma is that the COBRA battalion held a successful encounter in the morning in which several Naxals were injured and weapons were recovered. This has left them perplexed, as we are reaching closer to their headquarters. This attack was carried out in fury.”
Also he added in his statement the present difficulty in IED detection. Singh said that the forces and state police are working hand-in-hand to do away with the naxalite base in the region.
Talking on the same line and giving the same stand as the chief minister, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Ahir, gave the assurance of strong monitoring by intelligence agencies and the forces.
Nine personnels of the 212 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) lost their lives. In addition, two got severely injured in the IED blast.
The explosion took place when the CRPF jawans were conducting an operation in a forest in the district. The intensity was so large that it ripped apart the Mine-Protected Vehicle (MPV).
Meanwhile, the two ministers paid tribute to the nine jawans.