Jawan injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

A Chhattisgarh Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel was injured after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast planted by Maoists in Bijapur district went off on Monday (October 13, 2025) morning, said a senior police officer.

The jawan, identified as Dayaram Jamde (40), sustained an injury on his leg when he, along with his team members, was out on an anti-Maoists operation.

According to the police, the incident took place around 9:45 a.m. in Bhopalpatnam block, where the aforementioned operation is under way. Mr. Jamde, said the official, accidentally stepped on the pressure IED triggering the explosion. He suffered a fracture and was airlifted to the capital, Raipur, for better treatment.

The incident comes close on the heels of a similar incident in the district where a commando posted with the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in an IED blast during an area domination exercise in Pujarikanker.

This year alone, at least 14 security personnel from various central and State units posted in the Bastar region, which comprises of several districts including Bijapur, have been killed while around 70 have sustained injuries due to IED-triggered explosions, according to latest data shared by the police.

The deaths included that of a high-ranking officer Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje, and eight personnel who were killed in a single blast in January. The injury count is also the highest since 2018.

As forces have continued to conduct regular security operations against Maoists in the region since the beginning of 2024 and pushed them to the brink, direct counter attacks are rarely reported. However, despite over 1,000 kg of IEDs being recovered and destroyed by the police in this period, the ones planted by Maoists remain a major threat for the forces’ movements in these jungles.