Chhattisgarh Assembly elections 2023: One ITBP Jawan killed in IED blast carried out by Naxalites in Gariaband
ITBP head constable Joginder Singh was killed in the explosion.
Naxal attack: An explosion using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was carried out by the Naxals targeting the polling station while they were returning from Bade Gobra polling station. ITBP head constable Joginder Singh was killed in the explosion. “The polling stations and EVM machine have reached Gariaband safely,” said IG Raipur Range Arif Sheikh.
#UPDATE | The IED blast was carried out by the naxals who targeted the polling station while returning from Bade Gobra polling station. ITBP head constable Joginder Singh was killed in the explosion. The voting party and EVM machine reached Gariaband safely: IG Raipur Range Arif Sheikh https://t.co/xNZp28Icpg
— ANI (@ANI) November 17, 2023
The attack took place near Bade Gobra village under Mainpur police station when a polling station accompanied by security personnel was returning after voting was over, a senior police official said. The rest of the team reached Mainpur police station safely, he added.
The IED blast was triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district, where the second phase of polling for the state assembly elections took place on Friday, police said.
The elections to the 70 seats were held from 8 am to 5 pm, but in nine polling booths in Naxal-affected Bindranawagarh constituency in Gariaband district, they were held from 7 am to 3 pm due to security reasons.
Bade Gobra was one of these nine stalls in Bindranawagarh, which borders neighboring Odisha.
When election officials, escorted by security personnel, returned to Mainpur after polling ended, Naxals caused an explosion that killed ITBP head constable Joginder Singh on the spot, the police official said.
The first phase of elections in 20 of the 90 parliamentary seats in Chhattisgarh took place on November 7.