A day before the first phase of polling for 18 out of 90 constituencies in the partly Maoist-dominated areas of Chhattisgarh, insurgents triggered a series of improvised explosive devices (IED) in the Koylibeda block of Kanker district, killing one BSF Sub-Inspector and injuring another.
Inspector-General of Police (Raipur Range) Dipanshu Kabra said a BSF team was out on an area-domination exercise in view of the polling on Monday, when Maoists detonated at least six IEDs in a forest in the district, around 200 km from the capital Raipur.
The incident took place between Udanpur and Gattakal village, officials said.
Sub-Inspector Mahendra Singh was killed in the blasts, said Mr. Kabra, the nodal officer for election-related security in the State.
In a separate incident in Bedre in Bijapur district, a suspected Maoist was killed, the police said.
Drones deployed
Special Director-General (Anti-Naxal Operations) D.M. Awasthi said around one lakh security personnel, including those of Central paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure peaceful polling. Drones are being used in sensitive areas to track the movement of Maoists as they might target polling personnel on way to the booths, he said.
Due to the Naxal threat, polling in 10 constituencies — Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta — will start at 7 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. In Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur and Chitrakot, the polling time will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A total of 650 companies (roughly around 65,000 security personnel), including paramilitary and other State forces are on duty, Mr. Awasthi said. These units are in addition to paramilitary personnel and 200 companies of State forces already engaged in the anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh. “The challenge is to escort all polling parties safely to their destination and later to conduct polls and bring them back safely,” he said.
In the run-up to the first phase of polling, half-a-dozen incidents of violence have killed at least 13 persons, including security and media persons. All the incidents took place in the Bastar division of south Chhattisgarh, partly dominated by the left-wing insurgents. Many civilians and even a local leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Kalmu Dhurwa, were among those killed. Locals told The Hindu that the situation in the interior area had “deteriorated” following a boycott call by the Maoists.
( With PTI inputs)
