Chhattisgarh Naxal attack: 9 killed after police vehicle blown up using IED in Bijapur

The blast occurred on the Bedre-Kutru Road in Bijapur district.

A group of Naxalites on Monday blew up a vehicle carrying police personnel with an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district. At least nine people – including eight jawans and the driver – have been confirmed dead in the incident so far, according to police.

The blast occurred on the Bedre-Kutru Road in Bijapur district. The vehicle was carrying at least 20 soldiers who were returning from an anti-Naxal operation conducted on Sunday.

Police confirmed that a total of nine people, including eight soldiers and the driver, have been confirmed dead in the IED blast. Further details are awaited.

VIDEO | Here's what Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai (@vishnudsai) said on the naxal attack in Bijapur, in which eight security personnel and civilians lost their lives.(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/JSosQ8QeQ6

Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 6, 2025

This came after five Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region. The gunfight broke out on Saturday evening at a forest in south Abujhmaad along the border of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation.

Four Naxalites were found dead initially on Sunday, while one more body was recovered later, an official told news agency PTI. Dantewada DRG Head Constable Sannu Karam was also killed in action during the operation.

The anti-Naxal operation took place in the South Abujmarh forest area in the Narayanpur-Dantewada district border of Chhattisgarh, said IG Bastar. It was conducted by the STF in coordination with DRG teams from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Jagdalpur and Kondagaon districts.

On April 26, 2023, ten police personnel and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle, which was part of a convoy carrying security personnel in neighbouring Dantewada district.