Maoist-Planted IED Blast Killed A 9-Years’ Old Girl Near Odisha-Jharkhand Border

Bhubaneswar: October 29:

A nine-year-old girl from Digha village was killed by a Maoist-planted IED in Jharkhand’s Saranda forest near the Odisha border.

Sources said the child had earlier gone with a local woman to collect forest produce. Later, according to police sources, the IED—suspected to have been planted previously by Maoist cadres to target security patrols—went off when the girl unknowingly stepped on it. The powerful blast instantly claimed her life, leaving the accompanying woman severely shaken but unhurt.

After receiving reports of the explosion, Jharkhand Police and a bomb squad arrived at the scene quickly. They found the body and began searching the area.

Preliminary investigations now suggest the explosive device was part of an older trap set up during recent Maoist movements through the forest corridor. The detonation site, immediately cordoned off, is being examined by forensic teams for residue and triggering mechanisms.

After the incident, security forces searched the Saranda forest more to find the Maoist group that planted the explosive, sources said.