Twelve people were injured, three of them seriously, after Naxals blew up a sports utility vehicle (SUV) in which they were travelling using an improvised explosive device in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Thursday, a police official said.

The incident took place at around 7.30 am near Ghotiya village under Malewadhi police station limits, located around 400 km from the state capital Raipur, on an under-construction route that connects Narayanpur to Dantewada, the district's Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Pallava, told PTI.

The vehicle, a Bolero, came under the impact of the IED blast, causing injuries to all 12 occupants, including a woman. Three of them received critical injuries," he said.

After being alerted, a team of security personnel from a nearby camp rushed to the spot.

The injured people were being shifted to the district hospital, Pallava said.

The official further said they suspect the rebels might have planned to target security forces, but mistakenly attacked the civilian vehicle.

He also said police never use four-wheelers while moving on that route.