<p>The officials were on their way early this morning to conduct panchayat elections at polling station number 31 and 44 when the Maoists detonated a landmine on a road at Mariam hillock and took away with them seven members of the poll party, ADG (HQ) Rajyavardhan Sharma told reporters here.<br /><br />The accompanying Special Task Force personnel fired on the Maoists in retaliatory action near Chhurchuriya village under Charkapatthar police station, he said.<br /><br />However, there was no report of any injury or casualty on the part of the Maoists.<br />The landmine blast also injured the driver Arun Mandal and a poll official Surya Narayan Yadav, Sharma said, adding the duo was taken to a hospital where Mandal died.<br />Security personnel comprising STF and CRPF men were combing the area to rescue the abducted polling party members, Sharma said, but refused to divulge their names.<br />The Maoists had given a panchayat poll boycott call in Jamui district.The ninth and penultimate phase of panchayat election was held today.</p>
<p>The officials were on their way early this morning to conduct panchayat elections at polling station number 31 and 44 when the Maoists detonated a landmine on a road at Mariam hillock and took away with them seven members of the poll party, ADG (HQ) Rajyavardhan Sharma told reporters here.<br /><br />The accompanying Special Task Force personnel fired on the Maoists in retaliatory action near Chhurchuriya village under Charkapatthar police station, he said.<br /><br />However, there was no report of any injury or casualty on the part of the Maoists.<br />The landmine blast also injured the driver Arun Mandal and a poll official Surya Narayan Yadav, Sharma said, adding the duo was taken to a hospital where Mandal died.<br />Security personnel comprising STF and CRPF men were combing the area to rescue the abducted polling party members, Sharma said, but refused to divulge their names.<br />The Maoists had given a panchayat poll boycott call in Jamui district.The ninth and penultimate phase of panchayat election was held today.</p>