Man killed in IED blast in Chhattisgarh

A villager was killed when Naxals detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) in Chhattisagrh's Sukma district, police said Tuesday.

The incident took place in Timmapuram village Monday, but locals informed police about it Tuesday, Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena told PTI.

As per preliminary information, the man came in the contact with the pressure IED connection when he was working in his field, he said.

He died on the spot, the police officer said.

A police team was sent to the village and further details were awaited, he said.

Naxals often plant IEDs on dirt tracks adjoining fields to target security forces during their operations, Meena added.

Polling was held Monday in 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts, including Sukma, in the first phase of the state elections.

On Monday, five personnel of the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force, were injured in two separate encounters with ultras in Pamed police station area of Bijapur district, police had said.

Two Naxals were also gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district as polls were underway, they said.

An IED was detonated by Naxals early Monday in Katekalyan area of Dantewada district but no one was injured in the incident, they added.