BSF jawan killed in IED blast in Bastar

A BSF trooper was killed in an IED explosion in Bastar’s Kanker district on Thursday. The deceased was identified as head constable Akhilesh Rai (45). Rai is the second IED-caused fatality in Bastar in the past two days. Two security personnel have been killed, and at least six injured in Maoist blasts in Sukma, Narayanpur and Kanker districts in just five days. Rai was part of a joint BSF-district police team conducting a search operation in Pratappur area, close to the Maharashtra border. Near Sadaktola village, a Maoist squad hiding in the forest triggered an IED explosion and fled.