CoBRA commando killed, 9 injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma

The incident took place at 8.30 p.m. near the Arabraj Metta hills under the Chintagufa police station limits while an anti-Maoist operation was under way

Director General of the CRPF Anand Prakash Maheshwari pays tribute to the deceased officer Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao. Photo: Twitter/@DrAPMaheshwari

An Assistant Commandant of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) died while undergoing treatment for injuries he sustained in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Sukma district on November 28 night, the Chhattisgarh police said.

The condition of the remaining nine injured, including second-in-command Dinesh Kumar Singh, was stable and they were believed to be out of danger while undergoing treatment in Raipur.

Chhattisgarh DGP D.M. Awasthi pays tribute to the martyred Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao in Raipur. Photo: Twitter/@CG_Police

 

Assistant Commandant Nitin Bhalerao succumbed to his injuries, said Sundarraj P., Inspector General of Police, Bastar.

An IED went off at 8.30 p.m. near the Arabraj Metta hills under the Chintagufa police station limits of the district while an anti-Maoist operation was under way. The incident occurred 9 km northwest of the police station and 6 km west of the Burkapal base camp, the police said.

Eight personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) 206 CoBRA were injured in the blast, and were evacuated to the Chintalnar field hospital. Later in the night, they were airlifted to Raipur, where the Assistant Commandant died at 3.30 a.m. on November 29.

While paying tribute to the deceased officer, Anand Prakash Maheshwari, Director General of the CRPF, wrote on Twitter, “CRPF stands shoulder to shoulder with the family. The sacrifice won’t go (to) waste. We would carry forward the mission with more vigour and synergy and not let adversaries succeed in their dastardly acts.”

Bhalerao, a resident of Nashik in Maharashtra, was a decorated commando and had been adjudged the best in various combat competitions, a senior officer of the force said.

He joined the CRPF in 2010 and had come to CoBRA last year.

He is survived by his mother, wife and a six-year-old daughter, they said.

His mortal remains will be taken by an aircraft that is expected to land in Nashik this evening, a CRPF spokesperson said.

The CoBRA was raised by the CRPF in 2009 as a special guerrilla combat commando unit for undertaking anti-Naxal operations as well as combating insurgents in the northeast.

(With PTI inputs)