Raipur: Seven police personnel were killed after Naxals – far-left radical communists, supportive of Maoist political sentiment and ideology – blew up their vehicle in Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
The attack in Dantewada district took place on a day when Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh is scheduled to arrive in the state.
Naxals carried out a landmine blast around 12 noon when a joint team of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and the District Force (DF) was patrolling the Cholnar-Kirandul road to provide security to trucks carrying construction material for roadworks between Kirandul and Palnar villages, a senior police official said.
The intensity of the blast, which took place near a culvert, was strong enough to toss the police vehicle in a roadside ditch, he said.
Five personnel died on the spot, and two were rushed to the National Mineral Development Corporation's hospital at Kirandul. One of them died during treatment at the hospital, and another was airlifted to state capital Raipur, where he succumbed to his injuries, the official said. Those killed from the DF were identified as Head Constable Ramkumar Yadav, constable Tikeshwar Dhruv and assistant constable Shalik Ram Sinha, he said. The official said that from the CAF's 16th battalion, Head Constable Vikram Yadav and constables Rajesh Kumar Singh and Ravinath Patel were martyred in the attack.
CAF Constable Arjun Rajbhar, who was airlifted to state capital Raipur, died during treatment, he said.