5 CRPF personnel killed in Naxal attack near Lalgarh

Five CRPF personnel, including a Deputy Commandant, were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Naxalites near Lalgarh in West Bengal today, the second day of a shutdown called by the rebels in five states.

Four jawans died on the spot, while their commander Vijaypal Singh was brought with serious head injuries to Kolkata where he died. The incident took place at Ramgarh, 10 kilometers away from Lalgarh, the epicentre of the Naxalite insurgency West Bengal.

The blast comes a day after Union Home Minister P Chidambaram asked the Naxals to abjure violence and come forward for talks.

On Monday, the Naxals blew up a bus at Dantewara in Chhattisgarh, killing 35 people, including special police officers. Immediately after the blast, two detachments of CRPF jawans rushed to the spot and began a combing operation in the surrounding forested areas. According to police officers who visited the blast spot, the landmine was laid on a metal road.