BHUBANESWAR: A 20-year-old youth was killed in an IED blast by Naxals at Kiamunda village in Kandhamal district on Wednesday morning.
This is the second incident of Naxal violence in the State within a week in an attempt to threaten the locals to boycott the upcoming panchayat polls.
"A youth identified as Pranayaranjan Kanhar died after stepping on an improvised explosive device. The unfortunate incident occurred after 8 am," said Kandhamal SP Vinit Agrawal.
Posters and at least two banners threatening locals to boycott elections had surfaced near Kiamunda village on Tuesday. The red ultras had also set ablaze two construction vehicles near the village on late Monday night.
The bomb detection and disposal squad had diffused two IEDs near Kiamunda village on Tuesday and the combing operation was halted in the evening.
"Maoists out of frustration have now started targeting civilians too. To ensure the smooth passage of the panchayat polls, area domination exercises by local police, District Voluntary Force, Special Operations Group and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel are continuing in all Naxal affected areas of the State including Swabhiman Anchal," said a senior police officer.
On February 5, a journalist working with a vernacular daily was killed in an IED blast triggered by left-wing extremists in Kalahandi district's Madanpur Rampur block.