6 cops killed in Naxal blast

Six policemen were killed near Dhodraj village in Gadchiroli district on Tuesday when a patrol party virtually walked into a landmine set by Naxalites. Twelve of them were severely injured.

The policemen were part of a long range patrol party of 17 operating in the Naxal-hit region. Gadchiroli SP Shirish Jain said the police team had left on patrol in the forests in the afternoon when they came upon a private tempo. ‘‘They decided to board the tempo, which they were not supposed to,’’ Jain said. ‘‘We have a feeling that it could have been a trap…We haven’t been able to remove the 12 injured since intermittent firing is still on.’’