Raipur: Seven police personnel were killed after Maoists blew up their vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday. The attack took place on the day when Union home minister Rajanth Singh was scheduled to arrive in the state.Maoists carried out a land mine blast around 12pm when a joint team of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and the District Force (DF) was patrolling the Cholnar-Kirandul road to provide security to trucks carrying construction material for road work between Kirandul and Palnar villages, a senior police official said. The intensity of the blast, which took place near a culvert, was strong enough to toss the police vehicle in a roadside ditch, he added.Five personnel died on the spot and two were rushed to the National Mineral Development Corporation's hospital at Kirandul. One of them died during treatment and another died after he was airlifted to Raipur, the official said.Maoists looted two AK-47s and as many INSAS and self loading rifles of the deceased personnel, he said.Police sources believe that the attack was in retaliation to the recent encounters in Gadchiroli , Malkangiri and Bijapur, where Maoists suffered major casualties.Calling the attack "cowardly", chief minister Raman Singh said it exposed the rebels' anti-people and anti-development mindset."This proves that Naxalites do not want villagers and tribal people of this district to have access to even basic facilities such as roads. Incidents like these cannot dampen our courage.We are committed to provide all-weather transportation facility by developing a network of roads in the entire Bastar division, including Dantewada," Singh said.Earlier, Maoists had carried out a land mine blast in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on March 13, in which nine CRPF personnel were killed.

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