Maoists blow up BJP MP’s farmhouse in Chhattisgarh ahead of Raman Singh visit

Maoists blew up the farmhouse of a BJP MP with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, ahead of chief minister Raman Singh’s visit to the area, the police said on Wednesday.

There was no report of any casualty as the farmhouse was empty at the time of the attack that took place late last night.

Two rooms of the farmhouse, belonging to BJP’s Lok Sabha member Vikram Usendi, were damaged in the blast, they said.

Chief minister Singh is on Wednesday scheduled to visit Antagarh, around 15 kms from the village where the farmhouse is located, in Kanker as part of his ongoing ‘Vikas Yatra’.

As per preliminary information, a group of Maoists late Tuesday night stormed the farmhouse in Bondanar village, located around 250 km from the state capital Raipur, a senior police official told PTI.

Bondanar is the native village of Usendi, who represents Kanker constituency in the Lok Sabha.

The ultras threatened the watchman at the site to leave the place and then targeted the farmhouse with IEDs in which two rooms were damaged, the police official said.

After the blast, the rebels fled the spot, he said.

On getting information, a police team rushed to the spot and a search operation was launched in the region to trace the ultras, the official said.

Security forces have intensified patrolling in the region.