ITBP jawan injured in Naxal IED blast in Ch'garh

Rajnandgaon: An Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan was Sunday injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast carried out by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Rajandgaon district, police said.

The incident occurred in the morning near Panchal Fadki village under Manpur police station limits when a joint team of the ITBP and District Force was out on a road opening and de-mining operation, a senior police official told PTI.

"When the patrolling team was near a bridge on the road, head constable Srinivas inadvertently stepped on an IED which went off due to the pressure applied on it. He sustained minor injuries on his elbow," he said.

The official said the ITBP jawan had been shifted to a hospital in Rajnandgaon town.

The incident took place ahead of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's visit to Manpur here.

The CM addressed a poll gathering here Sunday which went off peacefully, the official said.

Polling for Rajnandgaon Lok sabha constituency is scheduled on April 18.

Earlier, on April 4, four BSF personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Kanker district while a CRPF jawan was killed in an encounter with Maoist ultras on April 5 in Dhamtari district of the state.