Raipur: Security forces averted a possible landmine explosion by defusing two IEDs weighing 50 kg in Dantewada area of poll-bound Chhattisgarh, where Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Narendra Modi are scheduled to address rallies on Thursday.
A joint squad of CRPF and state police detected two big Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) of 25 kg each kept in steel cases on the road between Dornapal and Jagargunda near Chintalnar in Sukma district in the wee hours on Thursday.
The forces were conducting an area domination exercise. The IEDs, concealed beneath, were defused, a senior official said. Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi are scheduled to address a number of rallies in the state on Thursday and Friday.
The IEDs were recovered at the same spot where Naxalites in 2010 had carried out the deadliest attack on security forces deployed for anti-Naxal operations as they killed 76 of them in a single ambush.
Two IEDs of 25 kg each were found planted underneath the Kudajhar road in Narayanpur district Wednesday evening during a de-mining operation carried by joint group of CRPF and district force, Narayanpur SDOP JP Bhartendu said.
The IEDs, if activated, could have caused a major tragedy for security forces, Bhartendu said.
Security personnel have been conducting de-mining exercise in several areas of Bastar after receiving tip-off that Maoists had planted land mines near polling booths and important roads in the region ahead of this month’s Assembly elections. (PTI)