Seven jawans were killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast directed on a police vehicle in Dantewada’s Cholnar village, Chhattisgarh, on Sunday, 20 May.
Earlier, three jawans from the Chhattisgarh Armed Forces and two jawans from the District Forces had been killed, while two other jawans were injured. Later, the two also succumbed to their injuries, taking the toll to seven.
Terming the incident as a sad one, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is currently on a visit to Madhya Pradesh’s Satna, said:
Home Minister Rajnath Singh The Naxals targeted the jawans by planting an IED, rather than fighting them face-to-face.
Deeply anguished to know about the death of Chhattisgarh police personnel in an IED blast in Dantewada today. My thoughts are with the bereaved families of the martyred police personnel.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 20, 2018
Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh asserted that the state will “strongly retaliate against such incidents” perpetrated by the Maoists.
Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterNaxals are against development and they usually target our soldiers. We will strongly retaliate against such incidents. the Quint
