Amid polling, Naxals trigger IED blast in Chhattisgarh; none hurt

Naxals triggered an IED blast on Thursday (April 18) in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon district where polling for Lok Sabha elections is underway, a senior police official said. No casualty was reported in the incident, he said.

“The rebels detonated the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) around 10.30 am between Medha and Dabba villages, falling under Manpur-Mohla Assembly segment, when a team of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police team was out on area domination operation in view of polling in the area,” he said.

No harm was caused to the security personnel as the explosion took place a few metres away from them, he said, adding that a combing operation was underway in the area.

Polling in the Manpur-Mohla Assembly segment of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha constituency is being held from 7 am to 3 pm. In the remaining seven Assembly segments of Rajnandgaon Lok Sabha seat, the polling time is from 7 am to 5 pm.

A thick security blanket of around 60,000 personnel, and drones, has been thrown around the three constituencies-Rajnandgaon, Kanker and Mahasamund – of the state where polling is being held in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.