Kanker, May 3 -- Four police personnel, including an inspector of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), were killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) went off while they were trying to neutralise it during a demining operation in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Saturday, police said. This was the first blast incident linked to Naxalite activity in the state since it was declared free from armed Maoism on March 31. It was also the first instance this year in which security personnel engaged in anti-Naxal operations have lost their lives. The explosion occurred around 11.30 am in a forest area of Aadnar village under Chhotebethiya police station limits, near the Narayanpur district border, when a joint team of security personnel was conducting a demining operation to locate and defuse IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range Sundarraj Pattilingam told PTI. Based on the inputs received from surrendered Maoist cadres and other intelligence over the past few months, security forces had recovered and neutralised hundreds of IEDs planted earlier by Naxalites across the Bastar range, which comprises seven districts including Kanker, he said. Saturday's operation was launched following similar inputs about Maoist dumps in the Chhotebethiya area. The team, led by the DRG, also included personnel from the Bastar Fighters and the district force, he said. During the operation, the team first detected a Maoist dump and recovered materials belonging to the ultras. Around 11.30 am, they found another dump containing an IED concealed beneath the ground, he said. However, the explosive went off while personnel were attempting to retrieve it for defusal, critically injuring four personnel, the official said....