Naxals trigger landmine blast in Kanker; none hurt

Naxals triggered a landmine blast today in insurgency-hit Kanker Lok Sabha constituency of Chhattisgarh when a polling party escorted by security forces was returning after conducting elections in the region.
However, no injuries or causalities were reported in the blast.
"The incident took place under Bhanupratappur police station limits of Kanker district when a polling party was returning from Parvi booth," Additional Director General of Police (naxal operation) R K Vij told PTI.
After voting concluded at 3 pm in the Bhanupratappur assembly seat of Kanker parliamentary constituency, the polling party escorted by security forces was heading towards Bhanupratappur when the naxals struck.

Security forces and polling party were safely evacuated from the spot, he said.
Polling ended at 3 pm in the seven naxal-hit assembly constituencies in three Lok Sabha seats of Kanker, Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund.

Those assembly seats where voting concluded are: Sihawa, Antagarh, Bhanupratappur, Kanker and Keshkal of Kanker seat, Mohla-Manpur of Rajnandgaon and Bindranawagarh of Mahasamund.
While Daundilohara assembly seat in Kanker region witnessed polling till 4 pm, polling for rest of the assembly constituencies in these three seats is upto 6 pm.
Large number of security personnel have been deployed in the region to ensure peaceful polling.
About 60 per cent of electorate cast their votes till 3 pm in three Naxal-hit Lok Sabha constituencies, where polling was held for the second phase of elections today.