Three troopers killed in Maoist blast in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, June 8 (IANS) At least three Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel were killed and two injured Sunday when their patrol jeep hit a landmine laid by Maoist guerrillas in Chhattisgarh. The incident took place in an interior, forested location of Durg district’s Dalli Rajhara area, 150 km from here, around noon when the leftist insurgents triggered the landmine blast.
The paramilitary troopers of the CISF were patrolling in a jeep to guard an iron ore mining area owned by Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the flagship unit of the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).
“Three CISF jawans were killed on the spot while two were critically injured,” Dipanshu Kabra, Durg superintendent of police, told IANS.
But the state’s inspector general of police (Maoist operations) Girdhari Naik said: “The rebels also looted weapons and ‘Insas’ assault rifles of the dead and injured cops.”
Reinforcements were sent to the area to track down the insurgents who reportedly sneaked back into their nearby thick forested bases.
In March, Maoists had carried out an attack in the same area, Mahamaya Mines of the BSP and walked away with 1.75 tonnes of explosives and briefly held hostage six BSP mining officials.