New Delhi: A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan and two polling officials were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast triggered by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Monday, police said.
The blast occurred just a day ahead of the polling for the first phase of the assembly elections.
The BSF constable, identified as Chandraparakash Seval, and two polling personnel were shifted to Chhotebethiya Hospital for treatment where their condition was said to be out of danger, PTI reported citing a police official.
Additional SP Hemsagar Sidar told reporters, "We got information that Naxalites have planned IED in Murhapadar...ITBP team reached the spot and we found one IED bomb and during its defusing, one ITBP jawan suffered minor injuries."
The incident took place at around 4 pm near Rengagondi when four polling parties escorted by security personnel were heading to their respective polling stations under Chhotebethiya police station limits, according to a police official.
A joint team of BSF and district police had set out from Marbeda camp escorting the polling teams to Rengaghati Rengagondi polling station, where the pressure IED exploded leaving two polling personnel and a BSF constable injured, he said, reported PTI.
The rest of the polling teams have safely reached the Rengagondi polling booth which falls under the Antagarh assembly constituency.
A search operation is underway in the area, he added.
Antagarh is among the 20 constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase of two-phase elections on Tuesday.