Maoists blow up bus in Chhattisgarh, over 40 dead

RAIPUR: Maoists on Monday triggered a landmine blast in Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh killing 20 police officers and 20 civilians who were in a bus. (Watch)

The bus was ripped apart by a powerful landmine as it made its way on the Dantewada-Sukma Road in Dantewada district, about 450 km south of Raipur, locals who rushed to the site said.

"The bus has been completely destroyed. There is a 10-feet deep crater," one of the locals said. "We can see 20 to 30 bodies. They are lying all around the site."

But Chhattisgarh Special Director General of Police Vijay Raman said that up to 50 people had been killed in the deadly attack.

The dead included civilians and SPOs drawn from the local community, police source said.

It was the worst attack blamed on Maoist guerrillas since 76 security personnel were slaughtered, also in Dantewada district, April 6. All but one then were from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).



In New Delhi, U.K. Bansal, Special Secretary for Internal Security in the home ministry, told Times Now channel that casualtiies "can be pretty heavy" in Monday's strike.

He said the people in the bus were "partly civilians and partly SPOs. It's extremely unfortunate, a dastardly attack".

"The Naxalites (Maoists) are now taking on innocent civilians," Chhattisgarh Home Minister Nankiram Kanwar said.

The latest attack prompted a meeting between Home Minister P. Chidambaram and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.