Election Commission allows voters to cast votes sans indelible ink marks in Chhattisgarh

An IED blast triggered by Naxalites and three different encounters between them and security personnel marred the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.

Bastar: The Election Commission on Tuesday allowed the voters in Chhattisgarh to cast their votes without indelible ink marks after voting in fear of Naxalite violence in the state assembly elections. The Election Commission has provided this facility to voters in Naxal-affected districts and centres, including Bijapur, Bhairamgarh and Abujhmad.

Earlier, an IED blast triggered by Naxalites and three different encounters between them and security personnel marred the first phase of polling in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday, officials said. The Naxalites created violence in Kanker, Narayanpur and Dantewada. A commando of CoBRA, an elite unit of CRPF, was injured in the improvised explosive device (IED) blast triggered by Naxalites in the Sukma district while his unit was undertaking an area domination operation to ensure security during the polls, they said.

A brief exchange of fire also took place between Naxalites and security personnel near Banda polling station in the Sukma district, the police said. Another encounter took place between security forces and Naxalites in Orchha police station area of Narayanpur district. On Monday, two polling personnel and a BSF jawan were injured in the Chhotebethiya police station area in the Antagarh constituency when an improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites, went off when polling parties escorted by security personnel were heading to their polling booths. Voting is being held in 20 constituencies on Tuesday in the first phase of the two-phase elections for the 90-member state assembly.