13-year-old boy killed, girl injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh

The improvised explosive device was suspected to have been laid by Maoists.

A 13-year-old boy was killed and a minor girl injured on Saturday when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to have been laid by Maoists, went off in a village in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, the police said.

The improvised explosive device was suspected to have been laid by Maoists.(PTI photo for representation)

“The incident took place this morning when the children were playing in an open area at Kadaikhodra village under Antagarh police station limits,” Kanker superintendent of police ML Kotwani said.

“The deceased was identified as Sumrit and the injured girl as Kavita (9),” the SP said.

As per preliminary information, the children were playing in an open ground area in the outskirts of the village, located around 7km from Antagarh, when the explosion took place, resulting in the death of Sumrit on the spot, he said.

When villagers were informed about the incident, a police team was rushed there and the injured Kavita was taken to Antagarh hospital, he said.

A Border Security Force (BSF) camp is located around 800 metres from the spot in the same village and prima facie, it seems the explosive was planted to target security forces during their patrolling in the region, the SP said.

The nature of bomb is yet to be ascertained and a Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) is examining the spot, he added.

Maoists on many occasions have planted IEDs at several places, targeting security forces deployed in Bastar region, killing personnel besides villagers.

On January 18 this year, two women and a minor girl were killed while four others injured in a pressure landmine explosion, triggered by Maoists, in the region’s Narayanpur district.

On January 23, a 56-year-old man and his son were injured in a pressure bomb blast in Sukma district.