Chaibasa (Jharkhand), Feb 21 (PTI) A 23-year-old man was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion suspected to have been triggered by the banned CPI (Maoists) in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.
The incident occurred when the man went to a forest near village Meralgada under Goilkera police station to collect firewood.
Superintendent of Police, Ashutosh Shekhar, said security forces reached the spot and recovered the body with the help of the villagers.
Left-wing extremists have planted IEDs to target the security personnel who are engaged in an intensive campaign against them, the SP said.
Describing it as a "cowardice act", Shekhar said the district police will continue with its operation against the extremists and ensure security of the rural people.
He said the Maoists had also put up a blockade by uprooting a tree across a road near Rengarbeda village and pasted posters against the operation on Monday night.
Besides, the police have also cleared another road where a “fake IED” was planted on Ichahatu Main Road between Kuira and Soitaba.