CoBRA officer killed, 9 commandos injured
An officer of the CRPF’s jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, was killed while nine commandos were injured after Maoists triggered an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Saturday night, security officials said. They said the improvised explosive device explosion took place in the Chintalnar forest area of the district at around 9 PM and the injured personnel were evacuated by an IAF helicopter around midnight. Assistant Commandant Nitin P Bhalerao, 33, succumbed to injuries in the early hours of Sunday.
RAIPUR: An officer of the CRPF’s jungle warfare unit, CoBRA, was killed while nine commandos were injured after Maoists triggered an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, security officials said.
They said the improvised explosive device explosion took place in the Chintalnar forest area of the district at around 9pm on Saturday and the injured personnel were evacuated by IAF helicopter at midnight. Assistant Commandant Nitin P Bhalerao, 33, succumbed to injuries in the early hours of Sunday. Nine commandos, including team leader second-in-command rank officer Dinesh Kumar Singh, were injured in the incident.
Seven commandos are being treated at a hospital in Raipur, while two are being given medical care at a unit hospital at Chintalnar, located in the south Bastar area of the state, they said.
Sukma district is located at a distance of about 400 km from here.
The injured troops belong to the 206th battalion of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA). A joint team of the CoBRA and local police was out for an area domination exercise when the blast took place, the officials said.
The team was scouting the area for the proposed induction of some new battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force and establishment of their new camps in this area and that is when the IED went off, official sources said.
Five more CRPF battalions are expected to be inducted in Chhattisgarh for anti-Maoist duties after the Union home ministry recently gave its approval.
CRPF director general AP Maheshwari,
who took a morning flight from Delhi to reach Raipur, laid a wreath and paid tributes to the officer at force camp here.
“CRPF stands shoulder to shoulder with the family. The sacrifice won’t go waste. We would carry forward the mission with more vigour and synergy and not let adversaries succeed in their dastardly acts,” he tweeted.
Bhalerao to be laid to rest in Nashik
Bhalerao, a resident of Nashik in Maharashtra, was a decorated commando and had been adjudged the best in various combat competitions, a senior officer of the force said. He joined the CRPF in 2010 and had come to CoBRA last year.
He is survived by his mother, wife and a six-year-old daughter, they said. “After the post-mortem, Bhalerao’s mortal remains will be brought to Mumbai from Raipur and later to Nashik. His last rites will be performed with full state honours at the time decided by his relatives,” Collector Suraj Mandhare said.
An act of cowardice: Sahu
Chhattisgarh Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu on Sunday described the Naxal attack in Sukma district, in which one CoBRA officer was killed and nine commandos injured, as a cowardly act that reflected the ultras’ frustration after suffering setbacks at the hands of security forces over the past two years.
“It is an act of cowardice. Our police and Central forces have been jointly carrying out operations from last two years. It has resulted in surrender of Naxals in large numbers, their arrests and their killings. It seems Naxals are frustrated due to these things,” the minister said.