Landmine found near polling station in MP

Bhopal: A landmine planted by Maoist rebels was detected near a polling station in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district, the police said on Thursday.

The landmine was found in Lanji sub-district, about 450 km from Bhopal, by a police patrol party late on Wednesday.

"Maoists intending to trigger off explosions had planted the landmine under a poll boycott banner," said Balaghat Superintendent of Police H.C. Mishra.

The banner read: "The government will be formed by bullets not by ballots."

Thirteen of Madhya Pradesh's 29 parliamentary constituencies went to the polls on Thursday.

Security had been stepped up in the sensitive areas of Balaghat. An air force helicopter and 10 companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed, said Mishra.