ITBP jawan killed in IED blast while escorting polling party in Maoist-hit region in Chhattisgarh

The incident took place near Bade Gobra village, located around 40 km away from the district headquarters. Polling across 70 constituencies in the state was held from 8 am to 5 pm, but in nine polling booths in the Maoist-affected Bindranawagarh constituency in Gariaband district, voting was held from 7 am to 3 pm for security reasons.

Inspector General of Police, Raipur range Arif Shaikh said, “Today after voting, an IED blast was carried out by Naxalites when the polling party was returning from Bade Gobra polling station. ITBP head constable Joginder Singh was martyred in the blast. The polling team and the EVM machine have reached Gariaband safely.”

Gariaband shares its border with Odisha and is located near the Maoist-hit Bastar region. In May this year, a Maoist was killed in an encounter with the security forces in the district.

Singh is the second jawan to have been killed in a Maoist-triggered blast while providing security to polling party officials and workers. In the first incident, a BSF constable, Prakash Chandra Sewal, 36, was injured in an IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on November 6, a day before the first phase of Assembly elections, which included the Bastar region. He succumbed on the polling day on November 7. Two polling party workers who were also injured in the blast are said to be out of danger.

A CRPF jawan had suffered serious leg injuries while providing security cover to a polling party in Sukma on November 7.