[Dawn] Indian Maoists kidnapped a state legislator and were suspected of triggering a landmine blast that killed three troopers in separate incidents, police in eastern India said Friday.Ram Chandra Singh, a legislator in Jharkhand state from the regional opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal party, and an aide were snatched late Thursday in a district that is as a hotbed of the insurgency.
'Police have launched a search operation to recover Singh who was kidnapped by Maoists,' Jharkhand police chief V.D. Ram told AFP by phone.
The kidnapping comes ahead of polls in Jharkhand later this month to elect a provincial government.
Meanwhile, three paramilitary troopers including two officers, were killed Friday when their van drove over a landmine planted on a road in the neighbouring eastern state of Orissa, local police superintendent Satyabrata Bhoi said.
The attack took place 610 kilometres south of state capital Bhubaneswar.
The dead include the driver of the vehicle, a deputy commandant and a sub-inspector -- all belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
'The van was followed by more vehicles carrying security personnel to crucial destinations. The blast was unfortunate and could be due to a lack of proper intelligence,' Bhoi told AFP by phone.
The convoy was transporting troops ahead of the start of a concerted assault on the Maoist militants' jungle bases in the so-called 'red corridor' that stretches across more than half a dozen states in eastern India including Orissa, a police source said.
The security operation, planned by the federal government, is tipped to start this month.
The Maoist movement started as a peasant uprising in 1967 but has now spread to 20 of India's 29 states.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labelled the militants the greatest threat to India's internal security, and last month rebuked regional police chiefs for failing to stem their attacks.