On Thursday, authorities reported that Maoist rebels in eastern India are suspected in the deaths of at least eight police officers killed in a landmine blast. According to senior police officer K.B. Singh, another five officers sustained injuries after their vehicle was attacked in the Koraput region late Wednesday, Sputnik reported.
Police sources say that four bodies were recovered at the scene, while four others died later at a hospital. The 13-man team of young recruits were on their way to Cuttack to be trained as police drivers.
Inspired by Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Tse-tung, the insurgents, called Naxals, have been fighting in eastern and central India for decades, demanding more jobs and resources for farmers and the poor, using violent acts including bombings, and hit and run attacks against authorities.