In a joint operation, the Mumbai police and central security agencies foiled a purported attempt to disrupt the November 20 Assembly election in naxalite-infested Gadchiroli district of eastern Maharashtra, by recovering two improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Acting on a tip-off that a group of Maoists had planted some IEDs to blow up a crucial bridge along the Palakot River in Bhamragad tehsil of Gadchiroli district, a team of Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad rushed to the targeted area in an helicopter for an arial survey.

Subsequently, a joint team of Gadchiroli Police, a company of the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force carried out an extensive  search operation and succeeded in locating the two IEDs, on the Palakota River bridge that links Bhamragad and Tadgaon.

As the search team was preparing to neutralise the two deadly IEDs, one of them exploded, while the other one was controlled by the team.

Police said that no one suffered injuries nor was there any damage to public property in the explosion.

The search is now carrying out combing the areas to detect any more explosives that might have been planted there.

The police said that the motive behind planting IEDs was either to create panic among the people or trigger actual explosions on election day.

Following the recovery, security agencies have intensified patrolling in many sensitive areas and are also taking other precautions such as keeping vigilance over naxal hiding areas in the forests and increasing security at critical public and private installations such as bridges, important roads and highways.

The security agencies have chalked out elaborate plans

to deploy adequate security personnel in three Maoist-infested constituencies of Gadchiroli, Armori and Aheri in Gadchiroli district, Chimur and Bramhapuri constituencies in the neighbouring Chandrapur district and Amgaon constituency in Gondia district to ensure smooth polling on November 20.  These six Assembly constituencies have over the years been registering sizeable voter turnouts in the elections.