Raipur, April 16 (Inditop) Five polling officials were dead Thursday in a landmine blast in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district and a paramilitary trooper was killed in the Maoist stronghold of Dantewada as guerrillas targeted the electoral process across the state.
“Guerrillas blew up a jeep carrying polling officials in a forested area of the state’s western Rajnandgaon district while a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawan of the 41st battalion was shot dead and four others injured in Dantewada district,” said Additional Director General of Police Girdhari Nayak.
The violence spread across the state.
While the landmine blast targeting the poll officials was in Rajnandgaon’s Kamkasur area, 125 km west of the capital Raipur, the security personnel was killed in an extended exchange of bullets with guerrillas in the state’s extreme southern belt under Bastar seat, about 480 km from here.
Besides, insurgents opened fire at about a dozen places in Bastar and Kanker seats soon after voting began at 7 a.m.. This included six polling booths in Dantewada and Narayanpur districts, police said.
Maoists also blocked roads in the vast interiors of Bijapur and also in Antagarh in Kanker district with heavy wooden logs.
Polling for the state 11 parliamentary seats began at 7 a.m. The voting will end in Bastar and Kanker seats by 3 p.m., while polling stations in the other nine seats will close at 4 p.m.
rounak