Bijapur, Apr 20 (PTI) A policeman was injured when an improvised explosive device (IED), suspected to have been planted by Maoists, exploded while he was trying to defuse it in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday, police said.

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This is the third such incident in Bijapur district in the last 22 days.

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The latest incident took place near Bangapal village under Nelasnar police station limits when a police team was out on area domination operation, an official said.

During patrolling, the team detected an IED, suspected to have been planted by Maoists, three kilometers ahead of Bangapal, he said.

When the IED was being neutralised, it exploded, leaving jawan Sitaram Kudiyam injured, he said.

The injured jawan was shifted to a local hospital and after preliminary treatment, he was being shifted to the district hospital in neighbouring Dantewada for further medication, the official said.

Earlier on April 17, a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan received injuries in a similar incident near Bade Tungali village.

On March 30, member of CRPF's Bomb Disposal Squad suffered injuries while trying to defuse an IED in Nelasnar area in Bijapur district.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)