Latest news with #RakeshRanjan
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Villager injured in Naxal-planted IED blast in Jharkhand's Saranda forest
An innocent villager was critically injured on Saturday after stepping on an IED allegedly planted by Naxalites in the Saranda forest area of Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. The incident occurred around 11 am in Baliba village, under Chotanagara Police Station to Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ranjan, the IED was intended to target patrolling security personnel. However, it was accidentally triggered by Sahu Barjo, a local resident who had entered the forest to collect explosion left Barjo severely wounded. Security forces arrived at the scene and transported him to Manoharpur government hospital. He was later referred to a higher facility for specialised treatment. Notably, the injured man remained without medical attention for nearly nine hours, reaching the hospital only around 8 expressed outrage over the delay, alleging that a quicker response would have been ensured if the victim had been a security incident highlights the persistent threat posed by IEDs in Naxal-affected regions, where civilians continue to suffer the fallout of ongoing inputs from Jay Kumar Tanti
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
30% of looted explosives seized at J'khand-Odisha border: Cops
Bhubaneswar/Ranchi: Three days after Maoists hijacked a truck ferrying 4,000 kg of explosives from a stone quarry in Odisha's Sundargarh district bordering Jharkhand, about 30% of the stolen consignment was recovered from the Saranda forest area of Jharkhand on Friday, police in Bhubaneswar said. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The recovery was accomplished following inter-state joint efforts involving several agencies, including Odisha's elite Special Operation Group (SOG). Police also said an exchange of fire broke out between security forces and Maoists in the Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, about 5 km from the Banko quarry in Sundargarh, where the explosives were looted around 10 pm on Tuesday. "The search operation yielded stone-blasting materials. While the exact quantity is being assessed, we estimate that we recovered at least 30% of the stolen explosives," a senior police officer told TOI. Maoists also triggered an IED during the search operation, injuring a CoBRA constable identified as Sunil Kumar. West Singhbhum SP Rakesh Ranjan said, "We are carrying out frequent operations in the Saranda forest area to recover all the looted explosives." Officers said the recovered quantity could increase as search operations continue in the forest. Police officers have not confirmed any Maoist casualty, though they suspect some cadres sustained gunshot injuries. Partial recovery of the explosives has provided relief to security personnel, who are concerned about their potential misuse against forces. "Maoists could use the looted items to manufacture IEDs and target security personnel," Jharkhand's IG (operations), Michal S Raj, said. Police officers said Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal launched extensive joint operations to prevent interstate movement of the stolen explosives. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "Our coordinated search operations continue across the bordering states. Efforts are on to recover all the stolen explosives. Our primary concern is preventing any potential misuse of these materials against security forces," a senior police officer told TOI. On Friday, police formed a special investigation team to investigate the case with support from the NIA. Initial investigation suggests the quarry operator failed to follow security protocols by not informing local police about the shipment's arrival. The area where Maoists struck is surrounded by forests, with no residential areas nearby. The probe faces challenges as Maoists removed the digital video recorder, eliminating access to CCTV footage from the quarry site.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
30% of looted explosives recovered from Jharkhand: Cops
1 2 3 Bhubaneswar: Three days after armed Maoists hijacked a truck loaded with four tonnes of explosives from a stone quarry in Sundargarh district, about 30% of the stolen consignment was recovered from the Saranda forest area in neighbouring Jharkhand on Friday, police sources said. The recovery was accomplished following inter-state joint efforts involving several agencies, including Odisha's elite Special Operation Group (SOG). Police officers said an exchange of fire broke out between security forces and Maoists in Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district, about 5 km from the Banko quarry in Sundargarh, where the explosives were looted around 10 pm on Tuesday. "The search operation yielded stone-blasting materials. While the exact quantity is being assessed, we estimate that we recovered at least 30% of the stolen explosives," a senior police officer told TOI. Maoists also triggered an IED during the search operation, injuring a CoBRA constable identified as Sunil Kumar. West Singbhum SP Rakesh Ranjan said, "We are carrying out frequent operations in the Saranda forest area to recover all the looted explosives." Officers said the recovered quantity could increase as search operations continue in the forest. Police officers have not confirmed any Maoist casualty, though they suspect some cadres sustained gunshot injuries. Partial recovery of the explosives has provided relief to security personnel, who were concerned about their potential misuse against forces. Police officers said that Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal launched extensive joint operations to prevent interstate movement of the 4,000 kg of stolen explosives. "Our coordinated search operations continue across the bordering states. Efforts are on to recover all the stolen explosives. Our primary concern is preventing any potential misuse of these materials against security forces," the senior police officer told TOI. On Friday, police formed a special investigation team (SIT) under an ASP to investigate the case with support from National Investigation Agency (NIA). Initial investigation suggests the quarry operator failed to follow security protocols by not informing local police about the shipment's arrival. The area where the Maoists struck is surrounded by forests with no residential areas nearby. The probe faces challenges as Maoists removed the digital video recorder, eliminating access to CCTV footage from the quarry site. (Inputs from Sanjay Sahay in Ranchi)
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Jawan injured in Naxal encounter in Jharkhand, cache of explosives recovered in Ops
A fierce encounter broke out between the police and Naxalites in Jharkhand, leaving one personnel injured. Following the clash, the security forces recovered a cache of explosive materials, Naxalite uniforms, and other items from the encounter confrontation took place in the Saranda forest of West Singhbum district in the encounter, Naxalites carried an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast, resulting in injuries to Sunil Kumar of the COBRA 209 battalion. He was immediately rushed to a hospital for Despite the intensity of the attack, the police retaliated with heavy firing, after which, the Naxalites to sources, the cache of explosives looted on the Odisha-Jharkhand border in recent days has been recovered by Jharkhand Police in Tirilposi as the Naxalites kept firing at the security Singhbhum Superintendent of Police (SP) Rakesh Ranjan confirmed the incident and stated that a search operation is still underway in the police recovered a large quantity of explosives during the encounter, which were looted by the Naxals near the Jharkhand-Odisha border. The Naxalites had attacked and looted a truck containing four tons of explosives from Banka mines in Odisha near the Jharkhand Director General of Police himself camped in Rourkela for two days to investigate the incident by the Maoists. Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is also investigating the to a press release by the police, top leaders of the CPI Maoist Naxalite organisation — Misir Besra, Anmol, Mochhu, Anal, Asim Mandal, Ajay Mahato, Sangen Angaria, Ashwin, Pintu Lohra, Chandan Lohra, Amit Dansda alias Upton, Jaykant, and Rapa Munda — are active with their squad members. These Naxalite leaders may carry out destructive incidents in the view of this, the police have intensified the search operation in the area. In this operation, besides the Chaibasa police, jawans from CoBRA, Jharkhand Jaguar, and CRPF are continuously conducting search operations in the forested and hilly week, as many as 30 Naxals were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Chhattisgarh. These included top Naxal leader Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavraj, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore, sources Watch
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Char Dham footfall rises post-slow start, still trails ‘24 figures
Dehradun: In the first 30 days of the Char Dham Yatra this year, around 17.17 lakh devotees visited the four revered Himalayan shrines — lower than the 19.5 lakh recorded in the same period last year. Despite large-scale promotion and awareness drives, the initial turnout remained tepid. Officials and tour operators said the numbers began rising after May 27, following a brief slump attributed in part to cancellations after the terror attack in Pahalgam. Even now, however, the footfall remains below last year's mark. Adding to concerns is the recent spell of rain in the region, with the first half of June — typically the busiest phase of the Yatra — just around the corner. Rakesh Ranjan, president of the Joshimath Hotel Association, told TOI, "Occupancy had dipped to 25–30% but has now improved to 70–75%. Still, it's below the levels seen in the past two years." He added that following the Pahalgam incident, May saw a wave of cancellations. "Enquiries have started again, but everyone's praying that monsoon does not arrive early as people are reluctant to visit hills when it is raining," added Ranjan Former Badri Kedar Temple Committee member Ashutosh Dimri said hotel data alone can't reflect true turnout. "Yes, numbers are lower this year, but the total number of hotels has also increased in the past decade," he said. "With summer vacations ongoing, the Yatra is expected to gain pace in coming weeks." A local tour operator, who saw low demand since the portals opened on April 30, described the season so far as "average". "Cab bookings were limited in May. June has started better," he added.
