Raipur, July 9 (IANS) In a significant breakthrough, the Special Investigation Agency (SIA) has arrested a key Maoist operative involved in the deadly blast that claimed the life of Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Giripunje in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district.

The arrested Maoist, identified as Sodhi Ganga, confessed to playing a direct role in the IED (improvised explosive device) explosion that struck the officer during an investigation near a torched earthmoving machine at a stone quarry.

The SIA team of six police personnel is being led by Superintendent of Police (SP) Neeraj Chandrakar.

Chhattisgarh home department had ordered a probe into the officer’s tragic death. The incident occurred on June 9, a day before a Bharat Bandh called by the Maoists, who had earlier set fire to machinery as a show of force.

During interrogation, the arrested Maoist disclosed the names of other Maoists who were part of the operation. He was presented in court and has since been sent to jail.

ASP Giripunje, a 2013 batch officer from Raipur, was known for his commitment to anti-Naxal operations and was just 42 years old. His sacrifice sent shockwaves through the police fraternity and underscored the continuing danger faced by security forces operating in insurgency-hit regions.

In a separate incident, two jawans of the CRPF’s 229th battalion were seriously injured in an IED explosion in the Bijapur district.

The blast occurred while the unit was on patrol duty along the Basaguda-Awapalli road in the Awapalli police station area on Tuesday.

The Naxalites had planted the IED between the villages of Timapur and Murdanda, police officers said. The jawans sustained multiple injuries, especially to their legs, and were immediately evacuated to the district hospital in Bijapur for treatment, the police official said further.

They later confirmed their condition as stable. Bijapur ASP Chandrakant Gavarna said that more information about the incident would be shared as the situation develops.

These episodes reveal a renewed push by Maoist groups to assert pressure ahead of political and security movements in the region.

With intelligence networks now working to act on the disclosures made by the arrested Maoists, security forces continue to remain on high alert across the Bastar division.

–IANS

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