Nagpur: At least five members of a marriage party were killed and three others injured when Maoists exploded a landmine in a forested area in Dhanora region of Gadchiroli district Thursday afternoon, police said.
According to an official from Gadhiroli police control room, the marriage party was returning home by road from adjoining Chhattisgarh state to Maharashtra`s Chandrapur district.
As per preliminary information available with police, a powerful landmine exploded on a road in the thick forests of Dhanora sub-district, ripping through the vehicle.
At least five members of the marriage group were killed in what police say is a first attack on civilians in the Maoist-infested region of eastern Maharashtra.
Police are engaged in identifying the victims of the blast while the injured have been rushed to a hospital in Dhanora.
Top district police officials, the Anti-Naxalite Squad and other security forces have rushed to the region for investigations, the official said.
IANS
