Van with detonators goes missing in Maoist den in Chhattisgarh

A private van loaded with detonators for industrial use went missing in the Maoist stronghold of Bastar in Chhattisgarh Sunday, leaving police clueless.

A private van loaded with detonators for industrial use went missing in the Maoist stronghold of Bastar in Chhattisgarh Sunday, leaving police clueless.

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"Two Mahindra Max pickup vans loaded with detonators were going from Raipur to Kirandul town in Dantewada district's iron ore rich Bailadila area when one of them went missing somewhere in Bastar district. A search drive has been launched to locate the vehicle," Praveer Das, Bastar district superintendent of police, told IANS.

Police set up several search squads and all entry and exit points of the district were sealed off as the top police officials here feared the insurgents had hijacked the vehicle.

The explosives were meant for a mining firm to blast rocks at Bailadila hills for iron ore excavation.