IED blast injures three villagers in insurgency-hit Bijapur in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: At a time when all of Bastar is on high alert following the loot of 5,000kg explosives by Maoists in neighbouring Odisha, three villagers were grievously injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district Friday morning.

This is the first attack on civilians since the encounter killing of CPI(Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju on May 21.

Police identified the trio as Vivek Dhodi (17), Badde Sunil (20), and Gote Joga (45), of Erragufa Para in Madded region, around 470km from Raipur, close to the Maharashtra border.

The blast occurred between 8.30am and 9 am when they were walking to nearby Bandepara village. All three were riddled with splinters in their legs and faces. Maoists indiscriminately plant IEDs, even on paths frequented by villagers. On March 31 this year, a tribal woman was killed by a Maoist IED near a village in Bijapur, less than 24 hours after a woman lost a leg in one such explosion in the same district.

After learning about the incident, the authorities sent an ambulance to the spot, and efforts were made to shift the victims to the hospital, the official said.