C’garh: In a First, Wild Animal Killed in Naxal IED Blast in Dantewada Jungle; Bear Dies in Explosion, Cubs Starve

Raipur: A female wild bear was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion detonated by Maoists in a jungle in Dantewada district of south Bastar, Chhattisgarh, police said on Thursday.

Her two cubs survived the explosion but starved to death after the death of their mother.

The incident occurred on December 17 in the forest near Kosalnar, under the Barsur police station limits in Dantewada district, according to police reports.

Local tribals discovered the dead bear, her two cubs, and IED splinters near their bodies. Photographs showing the cubs lying on their dead mother were later circulated on social media.

“We learned about the incident through social media on Wednesday,” said Dantewada district Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) R. K. Burman.

A police investigation revealed that the IED had been planted by Maoists along a jungle route to target security personnel during search operations.

“The female wild bear stepped on the IED planted by the Maoists, triggering the explosion,” Bastar Range Inspector General of Police P. Sunderraj told this newspaper on Thursday.

He added that incidents involving cattle and dogs being killed by Maoist IEDs in the Bastar jungles have been reported previously. However, this is the first recorded instance of a wild animal being killed in an IED explosion in Bastar.