Chhattisgarh: 1 dead, 11 people injured as Naxals blow up SUV in Dantewada

One person was killed and 11 others were injured after Naxals blew up a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which they were traveling using an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Thursday, a police official said.

The incident took place at around 7.30 am near Ghotiya village under Malewadhi police station limits, located around 400 km from the state capital Raipur, on an under-construction route that connects Narayanpur to Dantewada, the district's Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Pallava, told PTI.

The official said they suspect the rebels might have planned to target security forces, but mistakenly attacked the civilian vehicle.

Police never use a four-wheeler while moving on that route, he added.

The official said the victims were on their way to neighboring Telangana.

“The vehicle, a Bolero, came under the impact of the IED blast, causing injuries to all 12 occupants, including a woman. Of them, two were critically injured, while 10 others received minor injuries,” the official said.

After being alerted, a team of security personnel from a nearby camp rushed to the spot, and the injured people were shifted to the district hospital.

“One of the seriously injured persons, identified as Dhan Singh, who hailed from neighboring Balaghat district (in Madhya Pradesh), succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the hospital,” the official said. The victims, belonging to Rajanandgaon district (Chhattisgarh) and Balaghat (MP), was going to Telangana for some personal work, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)