Chhattisgarh Poll Violence: Jawan Killed in Naxal Attack on Polling Party

Raipur: In an unfortunate incident on Friday, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan lost his life as Naxals targeted a polling party in Chhattisgarh’s Bindranawagarh area. The attack occurred through an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion when the polling party was returning after the conclusion of voting for the second phase of the Chhattisgarh election.

ITBP head constable Joginder Singh succumbed to the IED blast as the polling party was en route from the Bade Gobra polling station. Fortunately, the rest of the polling party and the electronic voting machine (EVM) reached Gariaband safely, as confirmed by Arif Sheikh, Inspector-General of Police for Raipur Range.

This incident follows a series of Naxal-triggered low-intensity IED blasts in the Dhamtari region the day before, specifically on the Khallari-Gatapur road in Sihawa. These blasts occurred during a de-mining exercise by security personnel ahead of Friday’s polls. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported, and subsequent efforts led to the discovery and seizure of a 5 kg improvised explosive device in the area.

Chhattisgarh witnessed the second phase of polling on Friday, with 958 candidates vying for 70 assembly seats across 19 districts. Despite the unfortunate events, the state recorded a voter turnout of 67.34 percent until 5 pm in the second phase of polling.