A jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was injured in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast orchestrated by Naxalites in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, police said. The injured jawan was deployed for election duty at the time of the attack.

The incident occurred near the dense forests of Tondamarka, a region notorious for Naxalite presence. A joint team comprising CRPF and Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 206th battalion was conducting an area domination operation from Tondamarka camp towards Elmagunda village to ensure security during the polls, reported PTI quoting a senior police official.

Inspector Shrikant, a member of the CoBRA 206th battalion, accidentally triggered the IED planted by Naxalites, resulting in an explosion that caused injuries to him, according to the report.

The area falls under the Konta assembly segment, one of the 20 constituencies where voting is taking place on Tuesday as part of the first phase of the two-phase elections for the 90-member Chhattisgarh assembly. Several of these constituencies fall in the Naxal-affected Bastar division.

As many as 5,304 election booths have been set up for the first phase and 25,249 polling personnel have been deployed.

Polling in Mohla-Manpur, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker, Keshkal, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Konta is being held from 7am to 3pm due to the Naxal threat. In the remaining ten constituencies — Khairgarh, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon, Dongargaon, Khujji, Bastar, Jagdalpur, Chitrakot, Pandariya and Kawardha — people can vote from 8am to 5pm.