A jawan of the Border Security Force was killed after suspected Maoists detonated an improvised explosive device in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday, police said. The sub-inspector was part of a team that was on an area domination operation in a forest between Kattakal and Gome villages, Kanker Superintendent of Police KL Dhruv told PTI.

This is the fourth blast of an improvised explosive device in the state in last 15 days. The first phase of Assembly elections in the state will take place on Monday.

Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat called the incident unfortunate, ANI reported. “With this attack, the Naxals were trying to spread fear among people in Left Wing Extremism area but there is enthusiasm among voters,” he said.

In another incident, a suspected Maoist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district on Sunday morning, police said. The encounter took place in a forest in Bedre area when a team of the Special Task Force was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a police official told PTI. The suspect was found dead in a “uniform” and a rifle was recovered from the spot, said the official.

Search operations are under way in both locations.

The incidents follow the deaths of a jawan of the Central Industrial Security Force and four civilians in a suspected Maoist attack on a bus on November 8, and the killing of a Doordarshan video journalist along with three policemen in a Maoist ambush – both in Dantewada district. Security has been tightened in the regions that go to polls on Monday. The Maoists have asked voters to boycott the elections.