Bhubaneswar, June 14 (UNI) In a tragic incident, a CRPF jawan of the 134th Battalion was killed in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast during a combing operation near a stone quarry under K. Balang police station in the Maoist-affected Sundargarh district of Odisha on Saturday.

According to security sources, the IED—suspected to have been planted by Maoists exploded while CRPF personnel were conducting a combing operation inside the forest.

The jawan, identified as Satyaban Singh from Uttar Pradesh, sustained critical injuries in the explosion. He was immediately shifted to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Security forces had intensified operations in the region after armed Maoists looted around five tonnes of explosive materials from the Banko stone quarry last month.

During an intensive search operation, the forces recovered approximately four tonnes of the stolen explosives.

Sources said the IED blast occurred while the search operation was still underway to trace the remaining stolen explosives.

Additional reinforcements have been rushed to the site, and the combing operation has been further intensified following the incident.

Further details are awaited.

UNI DP ARN