Naxals Trigger 6 Explosions in Chhattisgarh Day Before Polls; 2 Killed in Ongoing Encounter
As per initial information, one Naxal has been killed while another has been apprehended in the ongoing operations. Arms and ammunition have also been recovered.
New Delhi: An encounter has broken out between security forces and Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur after the latter triggered multiple explosions in the state a day before the first phase of polling for Assembly elections.
ANI reported that a set of 6 IEDs were planted in a series and set off in one go between Gome and Gattakal in Kanker's Koyali Beda.
As per initial information, two Naxals have been killed in the ongoing operation. Arms and ammunition have also been recovered.
A BSF jawan is said to have been injured in one of the IED blasts.
Naxal outfits have carried out three major attacks in the last fortnight which have claimed the lives of 13 people, including eight security personnel.
In the last 10 days, over 300 IEDs were recovered from Bastar region and Rajnandgaon district by security forces, Chhattisgarh's Special Director General (Anti-Naxal Operations) DM Awasthi had said earlier.
Around 650 companies, including those from paramilitary units like CRPF, BSF, ITBP and around 65,000 personnel from police forces of other states have been sent by the Centre for the assembly polls.
Awasthi had added that there were inputs of Naxals planning to plant improvised explosive devices to target security forces and that personnel who had arrived from other states had been advised to avoid using any road unless it had been sanitised by "road opening parties" (ROPs) or had been subject to a de-mining exercise to detect and clear IEDs.
Polling in 10 constituencies — Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta — will start at 7 am and end at 3 pm on Monday.
In the other eight seats — Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot — the polling time will be 8 am to 5 pm.
On November 8, four civilians and a CISF jawan were killed when Naxals detonated a bus with an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.
On October 30, three police personnel and a cameraman of national broadcaster Doordarshan were killed in a Maoist attack in Aranpur area of Dantewada.
On October 27, four CRPF personnel, belonging to 168th battalion were killed and two others injured after Maoists blew up their bullet proof bunker vehicle in Awapalli area of Bijapur district.