Chhattisgarh: BJP MLA among 5 killed in Naxal attack in Dantewada

BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and three security personnel were killed when Naxalites exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

Mangled remains of a vehicle after a BJP convoy was attacked by the Maoists in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. Photo: PTI

BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and three security personnel were killed when their convoy was attacked by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district.

The Naxalites carried out "the meticulously planned attack" when Mandavi was hurrying to an election meeting just before the close of election campaign.

Dantewada district falls in Bastar constituency where polling will be held on April 11.

RAIPUR: BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four others were killed when an IED blast triggered by Naxals hit their convoy in Nakulnar area of Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday. The incident occurred at Shyamgiri hills when the MLA's convoy was heading towards Kuwakonda from Bacheli area. Mandavi, his driver and three personal security officers were killed in the attack, police said. Mandavi, a sitting MLA from Dantewada, was the only BJP legislator among 12 in the Naxal-affected Bastar region. The Naxalites blew up a vehicle in the convoy with an IED and opened fire at the occupant. The MLA, his driver and three security personnel were killed in the attack, police officials said. Grisly images of body parts strewn along a road bisecting a forest and a vehicle reduced to a heap of metal emerged from the spot. The powerful blast left a big crater in the middle of the road. According to sources, the ambush was set up by the Naxals to target the convoy. The Naxalites carried out "the meticulously planned attack" when Mandavi was hurrying to an election meeting just before the close of election campaign at 5 p.m. for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections starting on Thursday. Dantewada district falls in Bastar constituency where polling will be held on April 11. Maoists have given a call for a boycott of the elections. State police and paramilitary forces have intensified anti-Naxal operations ahead of the polls. The attack is reminiscent of a similar incident that took place in the Naxal hotbed of Bastar ahead of the assembly elections in May 2013. Twenty-seven people, including senior Congress leader Mahendra Karma and former Union minister V C Shukla, were killed in the ambush. Before the assembly elections in November last year, a CISF personnel and three civilians were killed in Dantewada when an improvised explosive device planted by Naxalites tore through a bus. Bastar Lok Sabha seat comprises eight Assembly segments. Polling in four Assembly seats, namely Dantewada, Konta, Bijapur and Narayanpur of Bastar Lok Sabha constituency will be held between 7am and 3pm to counter the Naxal menace.

Published at : 09 Apr 2019 05:53 PM (IST)

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