M A I N   N E W S

Seven cops killed in Bihar landmine blast

Aurangabad/Patna, Dec 3
Seven policemen were killed after their jeep was blown up in a land mine blast by Maoists in Bihar's Aurangabad district this evening.

The blast was triggered near Chandragarh More (circle) on the Tandwa-Nabinagar road, 200 km from the state capital, Additional Director General of Police (Headquarters) Ravindra Kumar said in Patna.

The dead included the Officer-in-Charge of Tandwa police station Ajay Kumar, five Special Auxiliary Police personnel and the home guard driver of the jeep, Kumar said. The police patrol was returning to the Tandwa police station after a meeting with the circle inspector in his office in Nabinagar, he said.

Five rifles belonging to the policemen were found from the blast site. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held an emergency meeting with Chief Secretary A K Sinha, Principal Secretary Home Amir Subhani and police chief Abhyanand, sources in the CMO said.

Senior police officers, including Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) SK Bhardwaj, Inspector General of Police, Patna Range, Sushil Khopde, Deputy Inspector General of Police Magadh range, Bachhu Singh Meena and Aurangabad Superintendent of Police Upendra Kumar Sharma visited thespot.