Indian Maoist rebels kill journalist, two police in attack ahead of local elections

Maoist rebels ambushed a convoy on Tuesday in a restive Indian state, killing two police officers and a journalist from the national broadcaster covering the lead up to local elections next month.

The cameraman was riding on the back of a motorcycle driven by a police officer in a remote stretch of Chhattisgarh state in central India when their convoy was attacked by armed men.

Police said the shooters were Maoist guerillas who have been waging a long-running insurgency against Indian rule in a forested belt of the country dubbed the “red corridor”.

“A sub-inspector, a constable and a cameraman have been killed,” Ratan Lal Dangi, a senior state police officer, saidTwo others were injured in the attack. National broadcaster Doordarshan confirmed one of its cameramen had been killed.

The deputy head of operations against the Maoists, P. Sunder Raj, said additional forces had been rushed to the scene.

“It is a developing situation and more forces are going to the spot. We will get more information about it once the team comes back,” he told reporters.