Ranchi: At least 12 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in a landmine blast after being trapped by Maoist guerrillas in Chaibasa district of Jharkhand on Thursday, police said.
The blast took place at around 2 p.m. near Karmapada forest, 230 km from Ranchi, when the security personnel were returning in a jeep to the district headquarters after defusing bombs that were planted in a school, police said.
Activists of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) had trapped the CRPF personnel, as the victims were new to Jharkhand and were unaware of the Maoist trap tactics, police said.
"The CRPF personnel had gone on a long range patrolling on Wednesday. They went to the Thalkobad secondary school for night stay and found landmines planted there," said G.S Rath, additional director of general of police (special branch).
"They called in the bomb disposal squad. Eight bombs were defused Wednesday and the rest of them were deactivated Thursday. They were returning to the district headquarters after completing the job when the blast triggered by the Maoist guerrillas took place," the official said.
Three of the victims belonged to the bomb disposal squad.
The blast is seen as a move to revenge the arrest of two Maoists in Chatra district Wednesday.
Maoist guerrillas are active in 16 of the 22 districts of the state. Nearly 550 people including 230 security personnel have been killed in the last five years in Maoist related violence in the state.
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