Tragedy struck the Saranda forest in West Singhbhum on Friday when an IED blast claimed the life of CRPF Head Constable Mahendra Lashkar from the 60th Battalion. The brave jawan, a resident of Assam, was critically injured in the explosion and later passed away during treatment on Friday night. His unit is mourning the profound loss.
Two other CRPF members, Inspector Kaushal Kumar Mishra and ASI Ramkrishna Gagrai, sustained injuries in the same IED attack. They have been admitted to Apollo Hospital in Rourkela, where their conditions are now reported to be out of danger. ASI Gagrai is the sibling of Jharkhand MLA Dashrath Gagrai. Senior CRPF officials have committed to providing advanced medical treatment for the injured and assured that the fallen jawan’s ultimate sacrifice would be honored. In response to the attack, security forces have escalated their combing operations, actively searching for the Maoist perpetrators.
The blast occurred around 4 PM on Friday during a routine search mission in the Naxal-affected Saranda area. The explosive device, an IED, was reportedly planted by Maoist insurgents. The area experienced intermittent gunfire following the explosion. This incident highlights a worrying pattern of increased IED activity in Saranda, with previous attacks including injuries to two CRPF Cobra personnel in August, the death of a sub-inspector in March, and the martyrdom of a Jharkhand Jaguar jawan in April.