A District Reserve Guard (DRG) was killed on Sunday in a forested patch of insurgency-riddled Bijapur district after a pressure bomb which was reportedly planted by Maoists went off, police said.
The incident took place when the DRG team was out for an area domination operation in the forest near Tippapuram, nearly 500 kilometres south of Raipur.
The improvised explosive device (IED) went off when the assistant constable, Sondhar Hemla, unknowingly stepped on it. Hemla died on spot. Additional policemen and paramilitary troopers have been rushed to the blast site to launch a combing operation in the area against the insurgents. Bijapur is among the seven districts of sprawling mineral-rich Bastar region where Maoists hold sway since late 1980s and despite stepped up offensive, the rebels are still in a dominant position in the forests.