Two CRPF personnel were seriously injured in an IED blast in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Thursday and one of them died later in the course of treatment, the police said.
The two CRPF personnel belonging to its elite Cobra battalion were grievously injured in the blast near a forest between Tumbahaka and Sarjomburu villages in Tonto police station area of district during a combing operation against the Maoists by security forces, the police said.
CRPF constable Rajesh Kumar and Inspector Bhupendra Kumar were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment, IG Police Operations Amol V Homkar said.
"Rajesh Kumar of 209 Cobra battalion succumbed to his injuries. The martyred personnel hailed from Chattisgarh," he said.
Bhupendra Kumar is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ranchi, the IG said.
Homkar said the blast occurred at between 11-12 pm on Thursday when the Maoists detonated an IED targetting the Cobra battalion as the security forces personnel pressed forward in its operation against the left wing extremists.
Search and combing operations are still on in the area by the security forces.
Apart from CRPF's Cobra's 209 battalion, Jharkhand Jaguar of the state police and district armed police were involved in the combing operation against the Maoists in the Kolhan region of the state, the police said. -- PTI