Suspected Maoists carry out two IED blasts on railway tracks along Odisha-Jharkhand border

Suspected Maoists carried out two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts on railway tracks along the Odisha-Jharkhand border on Sunday (August 3, 2025) night, a police officer said.

The two blasts, which caused damage to the tracks, occurred at separate locations near Jharkhand border.

This comes hours after a railway personnel was killed in an IED blast on a railway track near Odisha-Jharkhand border in Sundergarh district.

The deceased was identified as Etawa Oram (37) while an injured, identified as Budharam Munda, has been admitted to Rourkela General Hospital.

Both had gone to the spot for maintenance of the tracks.

The blast took place on the tracks connecting Karampada and Renjda under the Bimlagarh section.

However, movement of any passenger train was not affected as it is a loop line, a spokesperson of the South Eastern Railway said.

The Maoists had given a call to observe a martyrs' week or 'Shahid Saptah' from July 28 to August 3.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for the deceased's family.

"We have intensified combing operations in the area. Special Operations Group (SOG), District Voluntary Force (DVF) and bomb squads have been engaged in the operations," said ADG (anti-Naxal operations), Sanjeev Panda, who visited the site on Monday.