Dantewada: A Malayali jawan has been killed in Naxal firing in Dantewada district of poll-bound state Chhattisgarh on Monday.
The deceased has been identified as Kanyakumari native B D Joseph, a CRPF jawan of 109 Battalion, Dantewada.
The encounter between the Naxals and the security forces took place at a polling booth at Kottekalyan here during a CRPF domination exercise in the area as thousands of people voted in the shadow of violence in Chhattisgarh, on the first day of two-phase polling.
The incident took place in Nayanar police station area at around 3 pm as the polling officials were about to leave the booth.
The voting kicked off state polls seen as a semi-final before next year's national election. The rest of the state will vote on November 19.