Raipur: Naxals blew up a bullet-proof bunker (BPB) vehicle in poll-bound Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday, killing four Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and injuring two.
The attack comes on a day when Chief Minister Raman Singh launched the ruling BJP's campaign for the first phase of polls on November 12 in neighbouring Sukma district.
The incident occurred around 4pm near Murdanda camp of the CRPF when its 168th battalion was out on "area domination" operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said. When the BPB vehicle carrying six security personnel was around one km away from the camp, ultras triggered a powerful land mine blast, he said.
"Four CRPF men - Assistant Sub-Inspector Mir Maitur Rehman (50), Head Constable and driver B M Behra (43) and Constables C H Praveen (21) and Shreenu Kumar (26) died on the spot and two others Head Constable Baburao Siddheshwar and Constable Parmar Hardik were injured in the blast," he said.
The explosion was followed by exchange of fire between Naxals and the security personnel who were following the BPB vehicle, he said.
The bodies of the slain were retrieved from the site of explosion and reinforcement was rushed to the spot to airlift the injured to Raipur.
The attack comes close on the heels of elections in the state from November 12.
The first phase of election will cover 18 constituencies in eight Naxal-affected districts - Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon. The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20.
Naxals had recently put up posters in parts of Bastar calling for boycott of the polls.
On March 13 this year, nine CRPF jawans had died when Naxals blew up a mine-protected-vehicle in Sukma district.
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