Shortly after polls across the state opened on Tuesday, naxals detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, injuring a CRPF jawan who was on election duty.
According to India Today, Kiran Chavan, a senior police official in Sukma, the jawan belonged to the Cobra battalion and was assigned to poll duties.
After getting first assistance, the jawan, who has been named as Shrikant, is now safe.
During an area domination operation, Cobra 206 and CRPF members from Camp Tondamarca were travelling to Elmagunda hamlet when the event occurred. The jawan hurt his leg when he walked on an IED that naxals had planted while patrolling.
Additionally, there was a 20-minute altercation between the CRPF and Naxalites in the state’s Tadmetla and Duled regions that resulted in several injuries. Cobra 206 men, who were stationed in the forests to guard the Minpa polling place, were involved in the combat.
At 1:00 PM, a group of paramilitary troops went on an area domination to cast their votes, which led to the confrontation in the Kanker district near Panwar. A search is currently taking place in the region after an AK-47 was found there. It’s conceivable that several Naxals are hurt or even killed.
In the previous two days, there have been two IED blast incidents in Chhattisgarh. A pressure IED blast in Kanker on Monday injured two members of the polling team and a BSF constable. The constable, identified as Prakash Chand, was taken to Chhotepethiya for medical attention after suffering injuries to his legs.
In the meantime, the IED explosion caused minor injuries to both poll workers.
Today is the first phase of polling in 20 constituencies in Chhattisgarh, including the Bastar division, which is affected by the Naxals. More than 600 polling places in vulnerable areas of the 20 seats have a three-layered security cover in place to guarantee a seamless voting process.
The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will hold its second round of voting on November 17. Four other states that are scheduled to hold elections on December 3 will participate in the vote-counting process.
