IED blast kills man, injures wife in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum

A 52-year-old man was killed while his 45-year-old wife sustained multiple injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Ichahatu village of Goilkera police station in West Singhbhum on Wednesday.

The incident took place when the couple was walking on a muddy road to reach their field to water the arhar (red gram) crop. According to police, Krishna Purty and his wife Nandi Purty accidentally stepped on a pressure-triggered explosive device.

Other villagers present rushed in and saved the injured couple. They were taken to a government hospital in Sonua for treatment, but Krishna died. His wife Nandi is stable and responding to treatment.

In the last three months, six incidents of IED blasts have been reported from Goilkera and Tonto police stations, killing four villagers and injuring three, including a 13-year-old boy.

SP Ashutosh Shekhar said the IED was planted by Maoists to target security forces. “In desperation after extensive search and combing operations against them, the Maoists planted IEDs in the operational areas, but the victims were villagers,” the SP said.

Shekhar further said that villagers living in the operation area have been advised to be extremely cautious in their movements and alert the police when they notice any suspicious object and unattended electric wires lying in the fields and around the forests.