During the first phase of elections on April 16, 19 people were killed in Maoist-affected areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. The victims included nine civilians and polling personnel and personnel belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CISF), the Border Security Force (BSF) and other Central and State police forces.

At Chatra in Jharkhand, a landmine blast killed seven BSF personnel and two civilians. At Bastar in Chhattisgarh, a polling station was burnt and in about a dozen blasts, several policemen and civilians were killed. Further, at Gaya in Bihar, a polling station was attacked by Maoists and a policeman and a home guard were shot dead1.

Ten CISF personnel and four Maoists were killed in a major gunfight after the insurgents attacked the Damanjodi bauxite mines in Orissa’s Koraput district on April 12. The Maoists targeted the CISF armoury and a storehouse of explosives retained for mining operations. According to police sources, the Maoists could not loot the armoury or the storehouse but took away some arms from the CISF personnel and a cache of explosives kept in a vehicle owned by the public sector National Aluminum Company which owns and operates the mine2.

• 1. “58-62% turnout in Phase I polls; naxalites kill 19,” The Hindu, April 17, 2009, at http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/17/stories/2009041758120100.htm
• 2. “10 CISF personnel killed as Maoists strike at Orissa mine,” The Hindu, April 14, 2009, at http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/14/stories/2009041460641400.htm