Twelve persons were killed when Maoists attacked the convoy of independent MP and former Jharkhand Assembly speaker Inder Singh Namdhari in Latehar district Saturday.

The incident happened when the MP was returning after attending a function at Mahuatand in Latehar. Police said that the convoy came under the impact of the explosion, killing 11 policemen and a civilian.

Namdhari said that he had never heard such a strong explosion before. He added that they sped off without stopping the car on hearing the explosion.

Police said that additional forces were rushed to the spot of attack.