Eleven security personnel, eight CRPF men and three policemen, were killed and nearly 40 injured when suspected Maoists set off landmines in an ambush in Jharkhand’s Lohardaga district on Tuesday.
The rebels triggered several landmines to ambush the security men at Dhardhariya prompting the CRPF and district police personnel, returning from Urumuru village, to open fire, IGP (operation) R.K. Malik said here. Eight CRPF personnel and three district policemen were killed in the ambush as thick smoke engulfed the area with the gunfight continuing for some time. The rebels left the spot after the gunfight. Nearly 40 security personnel, comprising both CRPF and district police, were injured and taken to local health centre, a police official said. Seven of the injured were later airlifted to a hospital here.
The security personnel went to Urumuru after a tip off about Maoists having assembled there, but returned after not finding any one, when the militants ambushed them. —PTI