Naxal attacks intensify around Chhattisgarh polls: Five, including 4 BSF jawans, injured in Bijapur in latest strike

Two days after phase one of Chhattisgarh Assembly election, five security personnel, including 4 Border Security Force (BSF) jawans, and civilian were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast detonated by Naxals in Bijapur district. The attack took place near the district headquarters. The injured have been admitted to a hospital in Bijapur. Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured persons were shifted to a local hospital, he said, adding that a search operation was underway in the region, P Sundarraj, DIG, Anti-Naxal Ops told PTI. Bijapur is located around 450 kilometres from the state capital of Raipur. [caption id=“attachment_5547181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image of BSF jawans injured in IED blast in Bijapu. ANI[/caption] Naxal attacks have been common in Chhattisgarh due to the Assembly elections, the first phase of which took place on 12 November. The second phase will be held on 20 November. 12 November: Two encounters broke out on polling day — in the  Padema area of Bijapur and in  Sukma  — resulting in the deaths of six insurgents and injuring five security personnel. An  IED blast  was also triggered before polling began, targeting security forces near a booth in Tumakpal-Nayanar Road in Katekalyan area in Bastar, but no injuries were reported. IED devices were found near polling booths at a couple of other locations in Bijapur and in Bhanupratappur in Kanker and were defused by bomb disposal squads. 11 November:  Even a day before the polls , a Naxal was killed and another was arrested in an encounter between security forces and Left-Wing Extremists in Bijapur district’s Bedre area. In another incident on Sunday morning, BSF ASI Mahender Singh was injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Kanker’s Koyalibeda. Later, he was airlifted to Raipur where he succumbed to his injuries. 8 November: Naxals killed four civilians and one Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel in an  IED explosion near Bacheli  in Dantewada district on 8 November. Three others, including one jawan, were injured in the encounter. The Naxals, reportedly blew up a civilian bus which was being used by CISF troops for election duty. From 27 October till 11 November, the Naxals executed half a dozen attacks, said PTI. Three of these attacks were major ones which left 13 people dead including a camera-person of national broadcaster _Doordarshan_ who was covering the election campaign. On 27 October, four CRPF personnel, belonging to 168th battalion were killed and two others injured after Maoists blew up their bulletproof bunker vehicle in Awapalli area of Bijapur district. The attacks come in the wake of threats by the insurgents to boycott the “fake Chhattisgarh elections”. They had even threatened to chop off the hands of voters. The second phase of polling in 72 seats, out of the 90-member Assembly, will be held on 20 November and the counting of votes will take place on 11 December.