Day ahead of voting for Ist phase of LS poll, IED blast in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli
A CRPF trooper was injured after a booby-trapped bicycle exploded.
A day ahead of voting in the first phase of the LoksSabha elections, a CRPF jawan was seriously injured in an IED explosion triggered by Maoists in Maharashtra’s south Gadchiroli on Wednesday, police said.
Maoist-affected Gadchiroli votes on Thursday. The CPI (Maoist) had given an election boycott call and warned people of dire consequences if they vote.
Wednesday’s blast came on the heels of a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada on Tuesday in which BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel were killed in a landmine explosion.
The incident occurred when a group of CRPF jawans were going to a weekly market near Gatta-Jambia in Etapalli tehsil for security arrangements for the polling, an official said. The Maosists had placed an IED on a cycle. When a jawan touched the cycle it blew off. He sustained serious injuries and was rushed to Gadchiroli Civil Hospital where he was stated to be stable. The constable, Sunil Patel, will be airlifted for Nagpur on Thursday.
The area was cordoned off immediately after the incident. A reinforcement party of the CRPF was rushed to the spot and a search operation was also launched in the area.
District superintendent of police Shailesh Balkawde said adequate police security was in place in the district with the help of CRPF and other para-military forces to thwart any nefarious designs of the red rebels.
In April 2018, security forces had killed 40 Maoists, including two senior leaders – Srinu alias Srikanth and Sainath alias Dolesh Madhi Atram near Kasnasur village in south Gadchiroli. In retaliation, the Maoists had killed at least half a dozen villagers for being “police informers”.
Gadchiroli is among the seven seats where Lok Sabha polls are being conducted in the first phase in Maharashtra.
