Three civilians and a CISF jawan were killed on Thursday when suspected Maoists blew up a bus with an improvised explosive device (IED) in poll-bound Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, police said.
Two personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) were also injured in the incident, police said.
“A bus carrying CISF men was returning to their camp from Kirandul Dantewada market when an IED blast blew it up, killing four people,” police said.
The civilians killed in the blast included the bus driver, conductor and cleaner, Pallava said.
The CISF unit has been deployed in the area for the first phase of the forthcoming polls in the state.
This is the second Maoist attack in the district in ten days. A Doordarshan cameraperson, covering elections, and two policemen were killed in an ambush in Dantewada district on October 30.
The three-member Doordarshan team was heading for reporting on a new polling booth in Nilawaya near Sumeli camp. People in Nilawaya have not exercised their voting rights for the past 20 years.
Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Chhattisgarh in two phases on November 12 and November 20. The first phase is to be held in the Maoist-affected constituencies of Bastar region.