A landmine attack by Maoist rebels in eastern India struck the convoy of a senior politician, killing ten policemen and a young boy, officials said on Sunday. The attack in Jharkhand state came during a two-day shutdown imposed by the
Maoists in many areas which they control, to protest against the police killing last month of one of their top leaders Koteswar Rao, better known as Kishenji. "Ten security personnel and a boy were killed on Saturday evening when Maoists triggered a powerful landmine targeting the convoy of Inder Singh Namdhari," local district police chief Dev Bihari Sharma told AFP by phone.
"The escort vehicle following the VIP vehicle was exploded by the landmine," Sharma said. "It was a huge blast. Two policemen are also injured."
Namdhari, a state lawmaker and former Speaker of the Jharkhand assembly, was travelling through forests about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the state capital Ranchi when the attack happened.
He was unhurt, and no further details about the boy were available.
Railway tracks in the state were also blown up in two places before dawn on Sunday in suspected Maoist strikes.
The Maoist insurgency, which began in 1967, feeds off land disputes, police brutality and corruption, and is strongest in the poorest and most deprived areas of India, many of which are rich in natural resources.
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