Raipur: Three personnel, including a commandant, of CRPF's CoBRA unit, were on Monday injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) they were defusing went off in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district.
The explosion took place in Rajpenta forest under Basaguda police station limits when the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) personnel were conducting de-mining operation in the region, about 450 kms from Raipur, Bijapur Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv told PTI.
Based on specific inputs that Maoists had planted land mines in Rajpenta region close to the camp of CoBRA 204th battalion in Sarkeguda, the security forces launched a search operation and de-mining exercise.
After detecting 3-4 IEDs, the bomb disposal squad along with security personnel initiated the process of defusing the explosives.
However, the bombs suddenly exploded causing injuries to commandant Harshwardhan Singh, sub-inspector Abhishek and constable Roop Singh, Dhruv said.
"The CRPF personnel, including the commandant, sustained minor injuries in the explosion and they are being airlifted to Raipur after receiving preliminary treatment at a local hospital in Bijapur," he said.
The combing operation is still underway in the region, the?SP added.
CoBRA is a specialised unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) created to counter the Naxalite problem in the country.
