Ranchi (IANS): Suspected Maoist rebels in Jharkhand have hijacked a truck loaded with ammonium nitrate, used in preparing explosives, the police said on Monday.

According to the police, the truck was coming to Jharkhand from the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur late Sunday.

The suspected Maoist rebels hijacked the truck from the Ramgarh district of Jharkhand, some 60 km from Ranchi.

The truck driver and his assistant, ostensibly drugged by the rebels, were found unconscious, the police said.

"We have constituted teams to trace the truck and the consignment. The truck might have been taken outside the state," said S. N. Pradhan, spokesperson of Jharkhand police.