A personnel of the CRPF’s CoBRA unit was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Maoists went off in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said on Saturday.

The blast occurred on Friday evening when a team from the 202nd battalion of CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, an elite unit of Central Reserve Police Force) was out on an area-domination operation from its Nambi camp, an official said.

He said as the patrolling team was cordoning off the forest, constable Arun Kumar Yadav inadvertently stepped over an IED, triggering the blast.

The official said the injured constable was administered preliminary treatment and airlifted to Raipur for further care. His condition is out of danger.

Maoists often plant IEDs along the road and dirt tracks in forests to target security personnel during patrolling in interior pockets of the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Dantewada and Sukma. Civilians have fallen prey to such traps laid by ultras in the past.

On February 11, a CRPF jawan was injured when an IED went off in Sukma, while two security personnel suffered injuries in a similar attack in Bijapur on February 4.

On January 17, two BSF personnel were injured when Maoists triggered an IED blast in Narayanpur district.

On January 16, two CoBRA commandos were injured in an explosion in Bijapur.

On January 12, a 10-year-old girl was injured in Sukma district and two policemen suffered injuries in Bijapur district in similar incidents.

On January 10, a villager was killed, and three others were injured in two separate IED blasts at Orchha in Narayanpur district.