Maoists blow up CRPF vehicle before Patil's visit

RAIPUR: Suspected Maoist insurgents triggered a landmine to blow up a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) vehicle in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh on Monday, hours before President Pratibha Patil was scheduled to visit the area. A CRPF deputy commandant and a driver were killed, while five other troopers were injured.

"Insurgents blew up a Bolero vehicle at about 12 noon at a forested area near Mardum in Bastar. The driver and a CRPF deputy commandant were killed instantly," Girdhari Nayak, chief of the state's anti-Maoist operations, said.

The deputy commandant, of the 41st CRPF battalion, was identified as Diwakar Mahapatra. All the victims are from the 41st battalion who were returning after a road-opening assignment in the area, some 340 km from state capital Raipur.

President Pratibha Patil was in Bastar on Monday to visit the famous Chitrakote waterfall on Indravati river, just 27 km from the blast site.