A JCB operator was injured when he stepped on a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) in Dantewada, Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Wednesday. Police gave this information.

A police officer said the JCB machine was engaged in road construction work between Kamraguda and Kormeta villages under Jagargunda police station limits bordering Dantewada.

He said, "The driver got down from the JCB machine and was walking on the road when he inadvertently stepped on the IED, which caused the explosion and he was injured."

The officer said that personnel of CRPF's 231st battalion reached the spot immediately after the incident and took the injured driver to Dantewada District Hospital in an ambulance.



He said, "This incident is another example of the cowardly actions of Naxalites who are anti-development and are targeting common citizens engaged in development work to provide basic amenities to the villagers."

Naxalites often plant IEDs on roads and unpaved tracks to target security personnel guarding construction works in the interiors of Basta region, which comprises seven districts including Dantewada and Sukma.

According to police, civilians in the Bastar region have in the past fallen victim to such traps laid by militants.