South Asia News

Five killed by roadside bomb in eastern India

Aug 4, 2010, 9:20 GMT

New Delhi - Five people were killed by a roadside bomb in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, news reports said Wednesday.

Their vehicle was crossing a bridge in Giridih district when suspected rebels blew it up, about 190 kilometres north-west of Jharkhand capital Ranchi, PTI and IANS news agencies reported.

The incident took place late Tuesday and the police recovered the bodies early Wednesday.

The driver of the vehicle and four other occupants were employees of a private security firm, police said.

The pro-Maoist Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities had called a two-day strike on Monday in five states, including Jharkhand, to mourn the killing of a rebel commander in West Bengal.

Several long-distance trains have been cancelled through Jharkhand until Friday in view of the rebel strike, a railways official said.

More than one-third of India's 626 administrative districts are affected by the Maoist insurgency, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described as the main internal security threat.

The rebels claim they are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people and are active in some of the country's poorest regions.

A total of 820 people, including civilians, security forces and rebels, have been killed in Maoist insurgency related violence between January and July 2010, according to the website South Asia Terrorism Portal.