Three killed as Maoists blow up oil tanker with IED in Bastar

Attack comes a day after the byelection to the Dantewada Assembly

Three people were killed as Maoists blew up an oil truck at a construction site using an improvised explosive device (IED) in Kanker district of the Bastar region on Tuesday, said the police.

“At 10 a.m., Maoists struck at an oil tanker at a site where railway tracks are being laid, 2 km away from Tumapal village under the Tadoki police station limits. Three civilians were killed in the attack,” said P. Sundarraj, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Anti-Naxal Operations).

Those killed in the attack, a day after the byelection to the Dantewada Assembly seat in the Bastar region, were identified as Rakesh Kodopi, Duneshwar Singh and Ajay Kumar, he added.