The death of 14 Indian policemen in a land mine ambush near Bokaro town about 130 km from Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand state once again brings to the fore the vulnerability of the law keepers against surreptitious attacks that insurgents resort to in order to target them.

The Maoists who are waging a battle for a communist state in parts of India have sporadically targeted police personnel with a fair degree of success in their 20 year struggle for a communist state in parts of India.

The Maoist insurgency has so far claimed 6,000 lives including a number of policemen who have been killed in violent land mine attacks or Maoist onslaughts on police outposts. The Maoists who have their strongholds in inhospitable and inaccessible terrains find it easy to target police personnel during routine patrol or when raids are conducted to nab the Maoists from their hideouts in far flung areas.