A nine-year-old girl was killed in an IED explosion planted by Maoists inside Jharkhand’s Saranda forest in West Singhbhum district, close to the Odisha border. The minor was identified as a native of the nearby Digha village.
According to sources, the girl died on the spot while collecting leaves in the forest on Wednesday morning.
Reports added that the child had gone with a local woman to collect forest produce. According to police sources, the IED, suspected to have been planted earlier by Maoist cadres to target security patrols, went off when the girl unknowingly stepped on it.

The accompanying woman was badly shaken but unharmed, and she was instantaneously killed by the enormous blast. After hearing about the explosion, Jharkhand Police officers and a bomb disposal squad hurried to the scene, retrieved the body, and began searching the area.
The explosive device may have been a component of a previous trap that was set up during recent Maoist movements through the woodland corridor, according to preliminary investigations. In order to investigate residue and triggering mechanisms, forensic personnel have roped off the precise site of the detonation.
Launch of Intensified Combing Operations
According to knowledgeable sources, security personnel quickly stepped up their combing efforts throughout the Saranda forest in an attempt to identify the Maoist organisation that planted the device.

According to officials, Jharkhand Jaguar and CRPF special units have been sent in to eliminate any lingering rebel presence and neutralise any potential hidden bombs. Local villagers have been advised not to go far into forested areas until officials have given their approval.
Maoist Power Is Declining Due to Recent Surrenders
The tragedy occurs when the eastern Maoist network appears to be waning. Bandi Prakash and P. Prasada Rao, two prominent Maoist commanders, turned themselves in to the Telangana Police in Hyderabad just one day prior.
The organisational framework of the insurgent movement along the Odisha–Telangana border suffered a serious setback with the capitulation.