Sundargarh,(OT Webdesk)– A CRPF jawan sustained serious injuries in a powerful IED blast while participating in an anti-Maoist operation near the Banko stone quarry in Kuari hill region under K. Balang police limits on Saturday.
The injured jawan, identified as Satyaban Singh, was on a combing mission when the explosive device detonated.
Authorities suspect that Maoist insurgents planted the IED using explosives stolen from the quarry earlier this month.
Security sources confirmed that Singh was promptly evacuated to a medical facility and is now in stable condition.
Senior officials from the CRPF and Sundargarh police rushed to the blast site to assess the situation.
Reinforcements, bomb disposal units, and sniffer dog teams have been deployed to comb the area for additional explosives.
Security forces have intensified surveillance in nearby villages and forest zones, urging locals to report suspicious activity.
This incident comes weeks after a major explosives heist in the region, where Maoists stole five tonnes of explosives from the Banko quarry.
Officials have since recovered nearly four tonnes, but suspect that the remaining stock may have been used in Saturday’s attack.
Authorities continue their crackdown on Maoist operations in Odisha’s tribal belt, emphasising the region’s ongoing security challenges in dense forested terrain.
