April 10 (UPI) -- An Indian politician and four of his security personnel were killed Tuesday when their convoy was allegedly ambushed by Maoist rebels two days before the nation goes to the polls.
Chhattisgarh state legislator Bhima Mandavi of the Bharatiya Janata Party was returning from a rally on the last day of campaigning for the Bastar Lok Sabha election when his convoy of three vehicles was attacked, The Hindu reported.
The convoy was heading to Kuwakonda, some 280 miles from the Chhattisgarh state capital of Raipur, when his vehicle in the convoy was destroyed by the blast of an improvised explosive device. An unknown number of attackers then opened fire.
Chhattisgarh Director General of Police D.M. Awasthi told reporters that the convoy was attacked at 4:45 p.m. and the perpetrators knew which vehicle Mandavi, 40, was in as they waited for his bullet-proof SUV to be directly over the explosive before they detonated it, The Times of India reported.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack, which he attributed to Maoists, and said in a tweet the sacrifices of Mandavi and his security personnel would "not be in vain."
"[Mandavi]'s demise is deeply anguishing," he said.
Shri Bhima Mandavi was a dedicated Karyakarta of the BJP. Diligent and courageous, he assiduously served the people of Chhattisgarh. His demise is deeply anguishing. Condolences to his family and supporters. Om Shanti.
— Chowkidar Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 9, 2019
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel called the ambush a "highly condemnable attack on parliamentary democracy" and that he is reviewing it with top officials.
"I have given instructions to the officers that the [Maoist] bullets should be answered in their own language," he said in a tweet.
Following the attack, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Congress of reducing security, but police countered saying it had warned the politician that the route he was traveling was suspected to be heavily mined.
"The town inspector of Bacheli police station Sheeladitya Singh had informed the legislator that there was no road opening party on the route and advised him against taking the Kuakonda road without adequate security," Awasthi said. "Mandavi was given 50 District Reserve Guard personnel during his campaign but he returned them, saying campaigning had come to a close."
The attack comes a day after posters were circulated in the district, allegedly by Maoists, urging people to boycott the election.
The Election Commission said the first phase of polling in the state, scheduled for April 11, would continue as planned. The second and third phases were to be held April 18 and 23, NDTV reported.
Mandavi had been elected as the state's legislator during last year's assembly elections.
