Seven cops die as Naxals blow up their vehicle in Chattisgarh

Mangled remains of the police vehicle, which was blown up by Naxals with an IED, in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

Seven police personnel were killed after Naxals blew up their vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday, police said. The attack took place on a day when Union Home Minister Rajanth Singh is scheduled to arrive in the state.

Naxals carried out a land mine 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 road works between Kirandul and Palnar villages, a senior police officer 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 Raipur, where he died, the official said.