CRPF Elite CoBRA Unit Officer Injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh,dies

Deputy commandant Vikas Kumar

Muzaffarnagar: A 35-year-old officer of the Central Reserve Police Force's (CRPF) elite CoBRA unit, who was critically injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-infested Sukma district, died early on Monday, officials said.

Deputy commandant Vikas Kumar was from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and was inducted into the paramilitary force in 2010. He was part of CoBRA's 208th battalion, and received serious injuries on Sunday when the IED exploded while it was being defused.

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UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has announced Rs 50 lakh compensation and a government job for a member of Kumar's family. A road will be named after him, the CM said.

"The officer hailed from Pachenda village. His body will reach here any moment," SDM Deepak Kumar said.
The officer's brother Pankaj Singhal said that they were informed on Sunday night. He was being treated at a hospital in Raipur.

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A pall of gloom descended over the officer's ancestral village after the news of his death spread on Monday.

The officer is survived by his wife and two little children. The family was living in Madhya Pradesh while he was posted in Chhattisgarh, village head Nukul Chaudhry said. "He made the country and his village proud."

The officer will be cremated with full state honour, ADM Amit Singh said.