An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was triggered near a polling booth in Maharashtra’s Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district on Thursday. No one was injured in the incident. This is the second such blast triggered by Maoists in Gadchiroli in two days.
Mumbai: An improvised explosive device (IED) blast was triggered near a polling booth in Maharashtra’s Maoist-affected Gadchiroli district on Thursday. No one was injured in the incident, reports said.
Maharashtra Police reported a landmine blast near the polling centre. Voting was underway at this polling booth when the landmine exploded.
The IED blast took place around 10:30 am in Waghezari area, around 150 metres from the polling booth where people were standing in queues to cast their votes for the Lok Sabha election, an official told news agency PTI.
This is the second such blast triggered by Maoists in Gadchiroli in two days.
On Wednesday, Maoists had set off an IED at Gatta Jambia village in Etapalli tehsil of the district when a polling party was moving towards polling stations under the protection of a police party and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel.
A CRPF trooper was injured in the incident. The sub-officer suffered limb injury due to the improvised explosive device blast. He is stated to be in critical condition and is being airlifted for treatment, an official said.
The official said Maoists were trying to disrupt the poll process and create panic among villagers, who came out in large numbers to vote on Thursday.
Gadchiroli is among the seven seats where polling is underway during the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
The left-wing extremists in the Maoist-affected Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency had reportedly asked the tribals in the area to vote for anti-BJP candidates in their strongholds. This is the largest constituency in the state measuring up to 17,415 sq km, with an electorate of 15.69 lakh, stated a report. Usually, the Maoists boycott the elections in total.
However, this time they decided to ask the Gadchiroli tribals to cast votes against the BJP and its allies in the ‘Mahayuti.’ The decision was taken after a number of meetings was held in the interiors.
“Maoists never support any candidate but they have told villagers to shun BJP as a party,” a source was quoted by Times of India as saying.
So far, the Maoists have attempted to sabotage the polling in various places including Gadchiroli, Gondia, and neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Bhima Mandavi and five others were killed in a Maoist-triggered IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Tuesday.
In Chhattisgarh on Thursday, Naxals detonated an IED in Narayanpur district, which comes under Bastar constituency. No casualty was reported in the blast. Bastar is also voting in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.
With inputs from agencies.