Raipur: A day ahead of the first phase of Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh, a sub-inspector of Border Security Force (BSF) was killed on Sunday after Maoists allegedly triggered six Improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in Kanker district.

Not only Kanker district, but the Bijapur district also witnessed bloodshed. One Maoist was gunned down during an encounter with security forces.

In the first incident, according to reports, the explosives were blasted to targeting security forces in between Kattakal and Gome villages at around 8.30 am.

At that time, a team of BSF was on routine area domination in Koliyabeda area.

The victim Mahendra Singh sustained splinter and bullet injuries and was rushed to a hospital.

“We have launched a combing operation in the area after the blast,” said the SP, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, in the Bijapur encounter, a gun battle erupted when a team of Special Task Force (STF) went in the forest of Bedre police station limits on an anti-naxal operation.

While the first phase of election, on November 12, covers 18 constituencies of eight Maoist-affected districts — Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon, the second phase, on November 20, will cover the remaining 72 constituencies.

Security has been beefed up in these regions as Maoists continue to threaten voters to boycott the election.