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Jharkhand: Girl dies, two women injured in Maoist IED blast in Saranda forests
A girl died and two women were injured in a CPI (Maoist) IED blast in West Singhbhum's Saranda forests, prompting intensive police operations.
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A girl died and two women were seriously injured in a CPI (Maoist) IED blast in the Kolbhonga jungle inside Saranda forests under the Jaraikela police station limits in West Singhbhum on Friday, police said.
“Three women were hit by an IED blast triggered by CPI (Maoist) extremists in the Kolonga and Bindi Kiri jungles under the Jaraikela police station limits in Saranda forests on Friday evening. One of the women died, while the other two were rushed to a local hospital and are undergoing treatment. Innocent villagers are paying with their lives due to these desperate and cowardly acts of the Naxals,” West Singhbhum superintendent of police (SP) Amit Renu told the media on Friday.
Following the incident, the entire area was sealed, and intensive search and anti-Naxal operations were launched. A heavy contingent of district police and CRPF personnel reached the spot, police said. Panic has gripped residents of forest villages across the hilly terrain of the Saranda Reserve Forest.
According to local witnesses, the women had gone into the jungle to collect leaves and firewood when a loud explosion was heard. Villagers rushed to the spot and brought the women out, but the young girl among them could not be saved.
Maoist IED blasts have continued in Saranda over the past six months, claiming three lives and injuring four others. Incidents include the death of a villager in Silika-Kalakata on the Saranda border in June 2025; injuries to two CoBRA jawans at Hindukuli/Hindukocha on August 8, 2025; the death of a jawan and injury to another at Babudih on October 10, 2025; the death of a 10-year-old girl in Digha village on October 28; and the martyrdom of a CRPF sniffer dog on November 9, 2025.
As per police records, 30 villagers and 10 security personnel have lost their lives in Maoist IED blasts or other violent incidents, while more than three dozen security personnel have been injured in West Singhbhum district over the past three years.
