A jawan of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was killed in an explosion set off by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district where the second phase of the state assembly elections polling took place.
According to a senior police official, the incident took place close to Bade Gobra village while a polling team—escorted by security personnel—was making their way back after conducting voting.
“An IED blast was carried out by the naxals targeting the polling party when they were returning from Bade Gobra polling station. ITBP head constable Joginder Singh died in the blast. The polling party and EVM machine reached Gariaband safely,” Arif Sheikh, Inspector-General of Police for Raipur Range, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Chhattisgarh voted in the second phase of polling on Friday, with 958 candidates in the fray for 70 assembly seats across 19 districts. The state recorded a voter turnout of 67.34 per cent till 5 pm in phase two of the polling on Friday.
