India bomb attack: Maoist rebels kill 16 paramilitary officers

Modi condemns bombing, calling it a ‘despicable attack’

File image: Indian security forces have been battling Maoist rebels across the country for decades (EPA)

A bomb attack on a vehicle carrying members of the Indian paramilitary forces has killed at least 16, officials said.

The attack is believed to be the work of a Maoist insurgent group that has been targetting officials and security forces across India for decades.

Officials said a landmine was used to ambush a police vehicle in the forested Gadchiroli area in Maharashtra state. Rebel fighters lured police to the area by setting fire to more than 20 construction vehicles before retreating into the forest, police officer Sharad Shelar told the Associated Press.

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has condemned the bombing, calling it a “despicable attack”. India is in the midst of a general election in which Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made security its main talking point. “The perpetrators of such violence will not be spared,” Mr Modi wrote on Twitter.

Mr Shelar said the attack may have been a retaliation for a police operation in April last year in which security forces killed 37 insurgents in two separate gun battles in the region.

The Maoist rebels, who claim inspiration from Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting India’s government for more than 40 years, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers and the poor. The rebels have thousands of fighters and are active in several parts of India.

They routinely attack government troops and officials and have been called India’s greatest internal security threat.

Additional reporting by agencies