Overview
- An explosion around 11:30 am Saturday in a forest near Aadnar under Chhotebethiya police limits killed four members of a District Reserve Guard–led team during a demining sweep near the Kanker–Narayanpur border.
- Inspector Sukhram Vatti, Constable Krishna Komra, and Constable Sanjay Gadhpale died at the site, and Constable Parmanand Komra was airlifted to Raipur and later died during treatment.
- Police say the device or explosive cache detonated accidentally while being retrieved, a Bomb Disposal Squad was present, and forensic and ballistic examinations are underway to confirm whether a circuit connection or a chemical reaction triggered the blast.
- The operation followed intelligence on Maoist dumps, including inputs from surrendered cadres, and teams had already recovered materials nearby before the explosion, with security forces launching a search of the area afterward.
- The blast is the first Naxalite-linked explosion reported in Chhattisgarh since the March 31 declaration of an end to armed Maoism in the state, and state leaders expressed grief and pledged to continue clearance operations.