One Central Reserve Police Force jawan was injured in an improvised explosive device blast in Maharashtra’s Maoist-dominated Gadchiroli on Wednesday, PTI reported. The incident took place a day before the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the region.

The injured official is believed to be in a critical condition and was airlifted to a medical facility.

Personnel of the 191st battalion were patrolling the Gatta-Ettapalli area of the district when the blast occurred.

The development comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Bheema Mandavi and four others were killed in a suspected Maoist attack on his convoy in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.