Maoist rebels kill 3 government soldiers in India poll attack

FE Team | Published: April 10, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

NEW DELHI, Apr 9 (agencies): Three government soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with Maoist rebels in India's central Chhattisgarh state on Wednesday, a day before voting begins there in national elections, police said.
Another three soldiers were wounded in the clash in Sukma district, 385 kilometers (240 miles) south of Raipur, the state capital, said police officer R.K. Vij.
The gunbattle took place as government soldiers were returning to their base after escorting election officials to polling stations in the district for Thursday's voting, Vij said. The multiphase voting across the country runs until May 12 for the 543-seat lower house of Parliament.
The rebels staged the attack in the country's insurgency-wracked centre one day ahead of polling in Chhattisgarh state as voters in the restive northeast of the country cast their ballots.
A third phase of voting is scheduled for Thursday which will be by far the biggest to date with constituencies in 14 states including the capital region heading to the ballot box.
As well as a Vadodara, Modi is also set to stand from a second seat in the northern holy Hindu city of Varanasi on the river Ganges in the battleground state of Uttar Pradesh.
Elsewhere election frontrunner Narendra Modi waved to thousands of supporters of his opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as he filed his papers to stand from the Vadodara constituency in western Gujarat.
"Citizens of Vadodara have given me a grand welcome and I thank them," the hardline Hindu nationalist, widely tipped to emerge as prime minister when results are published on May 16, told reporters.
The BJP is expected to sweep to power at the elections for the 543-seat parliament at a time of low economic growth as well as seething anger over corruption and rising food prices.
In central Chhattisgarh, police said rebels attacked a convoy of paramilitary commandos as they were returning from escorting election officials to a polling station, about 415 kilometres (260 miles) south of state capital Raipur.
"In a gun battle with the Maoists, three commandos of the central paramilitary forces were killed in Chintagufa area," chief of the state's anti-Maoist operations Rajinder Kumar Vij told AFP. Three soldiers were also injured.
Meanwhile: Congress candidate for Konsa (W) legislative assembly in the troubled Tirap district was allegedly kidnapped on Wednesday by rebels and six electronic voting machines (EVM) were damaged in three districts during the polling to the two Lok Sabha and 60 assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh, official said.
Polling in the four northeastern states of Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya began on Wednesday with voters flocking to polling booths in phase two of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Yumsum Matey representing Khonsa West was allegedly kidnapped Wednesday morning but he later returned home safely after intervention by the security forces, inspector general of police (law and order) Satyendra Garg said.