Naxals have stepped up violence in the state in the run-up to the elections. (Representational)
A 65-year-old villager was killed today when a pressure bomb, suspected to be planted by Naxals, exploded in Balrampur district of Chhattisgarh, which has seen a spurt in Naxal violence ahead of Assembly polls.
The incident occurred at a site where road construction work was on near Nawadih village bordering Jharkhand around the same time when two policemen and a cameraperson of Doordarshan were killed and two others were injured in a Maoist attack in Dantewada district, located around 800 kms from Balrampur district.
The man who died in the explosion was identified as Budhan Yadav, a resident of Nawadih, a local police official saidd.
As per preliminary information, Mr Yadav had left his cattle for grazing in a nearby forest when a buffalo came into contact with an improvised explosive device (IED) that triggered a blast killing the animal, he said.
"Later, when Yadav went to the area to bring back his cattle at around 11.30 am, he inadvertently stepped over another pressure IED triggering an explosion that killed him," he told PTI
A road construction work was underway in that area. The official said ultras often plant IEDs to target security forces who provide security to road construction works in the area.
A police team rushed to the spot after the blast. Mr Yadav's body was sent for a postmortem.
Naxals, who have called for a boycott of Chhattisgarh assembly polls next months, have stepped up violence in the state in the run-up to the elections.
On October 27, four CRPF personnel were killed and two were injured when Maoists blew up their bullet proof bunker vehicle in Awapalli area of Bijapur district.
The next day, a BJP leader and member of Dantewada Zila Panchayat Nandlal Mudiyami was seriously injured after ultras attacked him with sharp edged weapons at his village Palnar in Dantwada.
The first phase of polls covering 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon will be held on November 12.
The remaining 72 constituencies will go to polls on November 20.
The counting of votes will take place on December 11.