Ranchi | At least two jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force were injured in an IED blast at Chaibasa in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, police said on Friday.

The incident took place in Mankey area near Jaraikela, within the dense Saranda forest, during a search operation conducted by CRPF personnel, around noon, an officer said.

The injured personnel, both belonging to CRPF's CoBRA battalion, were airlifted to Ranchi for better treatment.

IG (Ranchi) Manoj Kaushik after meeting the injured jawans said: "They have received splinter injuries. Their family members have been informed of the incident. Doctors say both of them are stable and will recover soon."

Police are investigating the blast and security forces are conducting operations on a regular basis, he added.

Saranda forest is known as one of Asia’s densest forests and remains a stronghold of the banned CPI (Maoist) group.

"At least three top Maoists — Misir Besra, Patiram Manjhi and Asim Mandal — with each carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore on their heads, are operating in the Saranda region," he said.

Jharkhand Police recently said it has launched a massive manhunt to nab 55 Naxalites, including top CPI (Maoist) commanders, carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 8.45 crore.

In the past six months, around 200 Maoists have been arrested, while 10 of them surrendered and 17 were killed.

Police also claimed to have recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition during the anti-Naxal drives, including 31 weapons looted from the forces.