An additional superintendent of police was killed on Monday after an improvised explosive device allegedly planted by suspected Maoists went off in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said.

Two police officers were also injured in the explosion, PTI reported.

The incident took place on the Konta-Aerobora road near Dronda village when Konta Additional Superintendent of Police Akash Rao Girepunje, Sub Divisional Officer of Police Bhanupratap Chandrakar and Station House Officer Sonal Gwala were patrolling the area by foot, The Indian Express reported.

The officers were patrolling the area ahead of a country-wide strike called for on Tuesday by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), PTI quoted an unidentified official as saying. It was also conducted amid reports that a bulldozer was allegedly torched by suspected Maoists.

During the patrol, Girepunje accidentally stepped on the explosive device, which triggered the blast, The Indian Express reported.

The officer was taken to a hospital in Konta but succumbed to his injuries. Chandrakar and Gwala were being treated and said to be out of danger, according to the newspaper.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma told ANI that search operations were underway in the area.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said that Maoists were committing “such cowardly acts” as they were frustrated by the continuous success of security forces against left-wing extremism.

“The Naxalites will have to face the consequences of this,” he asserted. “The day is not far when their existence will be ended from Chhattisgarh.”

On Thursday, the chief minister stated that more than 400 suspected Maoists have been killed in the Bastar region in 2024-’25.

According to The Indian Express, 209 suspected Maoists, including 192 in the Bastar region, have been killed in gunfights with security personnel in the state this year.

This includes the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao, the leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), in a gunfight with security forces on May 21. He was among the 27 suspected Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur.

The Union government has repeatedly vowed to eradicate “Left Wing Extremism” in the country by March 31, 2026.

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