Raipur, Aug. 29: Maoists killed six Central Reserve Police Force personnel, including an officer, by detonating a powerful landmine in Narayanpur district this morning.

The incident occurred an hour before BJP president Rajnath Singh landed here with an appeal to the rebels to shun violence.

“Violence is not a solution to any problem and Naxalites should drop their guns and return to the mainstream,” Singh said at a party programme in the Chhattisgarh capital.

The five CRPF jawans of the 43rd Battalion, led by commandant R.S. Kang, were on their way to the interiors of Narayanpur, around 300km from here, to inaugurate a road.

They drove over a landmine laid by the Maoists near Cheribedi, 350km from Raipur, between Narayanpur and Kondagaon.

The blast that occurred around 11.30am killed all the men on the spot.

According to additional director-general of police (intelligence) Girdhari Nayak, the explosion was so powerful that it ripped apart the jeep in which the CRPF personnel were travelling.

Nayak added that body parts were found hanging from trees.

Senior police officers from Narayanpur and Bastar reached the spot with additional forces while security personnel sealed off the Narayanpur-Kondagaon route.

The officers said they did not know if the rebels had taken away the jawans’ arms and ammunition after the ambush.

“It will be clear once the officers return from the spot,” said an officer at the state police headquarters in Raipur.