Maoists blow up police pickets

Maoist guerrillas on Friday blew up two police pickets in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. No one was injured, police said.

Maoist guerrillas on Friday blew up two police pickets in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. No one was injured, police said.

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The rebels first blew up a picket at Maniadih village of Dhanbad district, 270 km from state capital Ranchi, using detonators. The post was lying vacant for the past one week as per the directions of the Jharkhand High Court.

After damaging the Maniadih police picket, the guerrillas blew up another at Pokharia in Dhanbad, a police officer said.

Maoist guerrillas are active in 18 of the 24 districts of Jharkhand. Nearly 1,550 people have been killed in Maoist-related violence in the last eight years.