Maoists kill 3 in Chhattisgarh; 19 hurt

The attack comes just a day after the rebels attacked a police station killing eight policemen and three civilians.

Three tribal persons were killed and 19 others were wounded in fresh attacks by Maoist rebels, police said on Saturday.

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The attack in Chhattisgarh came a day after the Leftist extremists killed eight policemen and three civilians in separate incidents, including a raid on a state-run explosives store.

In the latest violence, dozens of rebels stormed the tribal village of Odsa in Dantewada district, lined up 22 men and beat them up after accusing them of supporting the police, District Police Chief Praveer Das said.

Three men died of their wounds and 19 were admitted to hospital, he added.

Maoist violence has mounted in Chhattisgarh as the rebels, who claim to be fighting for India's poor peasants and landless labourers, target security forces, government facilities and people they suspect of being informers.