Reuters reported that maoist rebels killed 10 policemen in eastern India and shut down a mine operated by state run National Aluminium Company Limited as they stepped up attacks ahead of a general election.
Police said that at least 100 rebels attacked a NALCO bauxite mine guarded by police in the mineral rich state of Orissa late on Sunday.
Mr Deepak Kumar a senior police officer said that four Maoists were also killed during a heavy exchange of fire between the rebels and police.
The company said that the open pit mine, with a deposit of more than 310 million tonnes of bauxite reserve, would be shut for at least a day as a result of the attack. The area also houses the company's depot, where huge quantities of explosives meant for quarrying are stored.
Mr PK Mohapatra senior NALCO official said that "They attacked during the night shift and trapped nearly 60 employees."
The rebels have stepped up attacks in eastern and central India ahead of a general election in April and May, which they are boycotting.
The Maoists, who said that they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, have threatened to chop off hands of voters if they went to polling booths.
Thousands have been killed in the Maoist insurgency which began in the late 1960s and now stretches throughout rural areas of eastern, central and southern India.
Mr Manmohan Singh PM of India has described the insurgency as one of the gravest threats to India's internal security.
