BSF personnel injured in IED blast in Chhattisgarh ahead of polls
Raipur, Nov 11 : A BSF personnel was injured when Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Sunday, a day ahead of the first phase of Assembly elections in the state, police said.
A team of the Border Security Force (BSF) was out on an area domination operation when Naxals blew up the IED in a forest between Kattakal and Gome villages, located around 200 km from here, Kanker Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv told PTI over phone.
"BSF's sub-inspector Mahendra Singh sustained injuries in the explosion," he said.
Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured personnel was being evacuated from the forest, he said, adding that a search operation was underway in the region.
This is the fourth IED blast triggered by Naxals in Chhattisgarh in the last 15 days.
Naxalites have called for a boycott of polls in the state and have executed half-a-dozen attacks in the last 15 days, three of them major ones which left 13 people dead, including a cameraperson of national broadcaster Doordarshan who was covering the election campaign.
Two BSF jawans were injured in an IED blast on November 2 in the same area in Kanker district.
On October 27, four Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed and two others injured after Maoists blew up their bullet proof bunker vehicle with an IED in Bijapur district.
On November 8, four civilians and a CISF jawan were killed when Naxals detonated an IED in Dantewada district.
Polling parties are being sent to their destination amid tight security, election authorities said.
The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to polls in two phases -- on November 12 and 20 -- and the results will be announced on December 11.
The first phase of polls on Monday will cover 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts that include Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon.
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PM Modi to address nation at around 8 PM tonight
New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation at around 8 PM tonight, his first since the start of Operation Sindoor, officials said.
The address comes two days after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea with immediate effect.
The understanding was reached after four days of cross-border strikes that triggered fears of a wider conflict.
Operation Sindoor was launched by India on the intervening night of May 6 and 7 to avenge the killings of 26 people in the Pahalgam terror attack. Indian armed forces targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists.
Pakistan then attempted to attack several Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.
The Indian armed forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations, including Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian.
Radar sites at Pasrur and Sialkot aviation base were also targeted using precision munitions, causing massive damage
Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai has said 35-40 Pakistani military personnel have been killed in the combat and New Delhi achieved its desired objectives.
Ghai is scheduled to speak with his Pakistani counterpart this evening, the second time since Saturday.
