Bijapur: A powerful 40 kg improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Maoists was recovered in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Sunday, police said.
The explosive, packed in a big plastic container, was unearthed by a joint team of various security forces on Basaguda-Tarrem road, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap said.
Personnel belonging to CRPF’s 168th battalion, 204th battalion of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action- an elite unit of CRPF) and the district force were involved in the operation, he said.
While carrying out the de-mining exercise on the route, security personnel spotted the IED planted beneath the road near a bridge between Sarkeguda and Pegdapalli villages, averting a major mishap, he said.
As per preliminary information, Naxals are going to observe the martyrs’ week from July 28 to August 3 and had planted the IED to target security forces during that time, the official said.
Security forces often carry out patrolling on the Basguda-Tarrem route where road construction work is underway, he said.
Meanwhile, security has been stepped up in the Naxal- hit districts of the state, particularly in seven districts of Bastar division – Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Sukma and Kanker in view of the ‘martyrs’ week’, which the rebels observe in the memory of their slain leaders.