3 min readRaipurFeb 13, 2026 09:13 AM IST
A fox-hole Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted two feet under a main road with an intention to blow up big police vehicle along with another IED was detected and diffused by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday.
Though the forces have made significant strides in recovering looted weapons, the threat of IEDs still looms large, they said. In January 2025, eight security personnel and a driver were killed after Maoists blew up a police vehicle using command IED in the jungle area of Kutru in Bijapur. In 2023, ten police personnel and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle using a command IED in neighbouring Dantewada district.
In a related development, the forces also demolished multiple Maoist memorial structures made recently to pay tribute to Maoists killed in encounters including one made for Basavaraju in Abujhmad on the banks of Indravati river.
The IED weighing around 30 kilograms was planted barely three kilometers away from a police camp on the Awapalli-Murdunda road which connects Bijapur to southermost Sukma district.
The road leads to places like Silger, Jagargunda, Tekalgudem and Puarti which have been stronghold of Maoists for decades till they were freed from Maoist influence in the last two years. The once dreaded Battalion 1 of Maoists used to camp in these areas. The Pamed area committee of Maoists is still active.
The police suspect the IED is old and may have been planted over a year ago. But the Maoists recently tried to connect it using a wire laid beneath the ground and going as far as 200 meters.
The intention was to trigger the IED using a command switch from a distance of 200 meters to blow up big police vehicles engaged in anti-naxal operations.
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The fox-hole IED is planted by digging a five feet hole beneath the ground next to the road. In this case a rice field adjacent to the road helped Maoists to plant the IED as the road is at a higher elevation from the field.
“As the IED was planted deep inside the road it had to be blasted. The damaged road has been repaired and opened for vehicular movement,” said Additional SP Chandrakant Governa.
Another IED was planted near a Forward Operation Base (FOB) in Gangaloor area of the district which is infamous for recruitment of Naxals posted across multiple states.
