India's Maoist Rebels Kill Policeman, Injure Top Officer

A police driver and a suspected Maoist rebel commander were killed and a top police officer injured in a gun battle with left-wing guerrillas in central India's Jharkhand state, officials said.

Suspected rebels armed with automatic rifles attacked the vehicle of Prabhat Kumar, Ranchi's senior superintendent of police, injuring him, another policeman and killing his driver. 

The attack took place Tuesday at Maranghada village in Khunti district, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of state capital Ranchi.

Kumar was leading an anti-Maoist operation after receiving a tip-off about the presence of rebels in the region when his cavalcade came under heavy gun fire, triggering a fierce battle.

"SSP Ranchi and one police constable were injured. One police driver has succumbed to bullet injury. One Naxal (Maoist) commander Chandan ji has also been killed," said D.K. Pandey, Jharkhand police chief.

Jharkhand home secretary N.N. Pandey told AFP that Kumar was hit by a bullet in the shoulder and that doctors have declared him out of danger.

In another attack, Maoist guerrillas killed a paramilitary trooper in neighboring Chhattisgarh state, news agency Press Trust of India reported.

Three more troopers were injured in the attack in Bijapur district.

Maoist rebels, who claim to be fighting for the rights of poor tribal minorities and farmers, have waged a decades-long battle across central and eastern Indian states to overthrow the government. 

The armed insurgency has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and the government describes it as the country's most serious internal security threat.