Police destroy arms recovered from Maoists in West Bengal's Jhargarm district

Security personnel destroyed arms and ammunition recovered from Maoists in Jhargram district.

Giving details of the recovery, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) commandant, Paras Nath said the weapons included a Tiffin bomb weighing 300 kilograms.

In addition, a flashlight, guns, 125 meters of flexi wire and five pencil cells were also recovered and confiscated.

Nath said the area has been sealed off and more teams have been arranged to conduct search operations.

Earlier in June, Maoists attacked a passenger train in Bihar killing at least two persons in a daring assault just weeks after the rebels attacked a group of Congress politicians in central Chhattisgarh.

They are estimated to number between 6,000 and 8,000 hardcore fighters in nearly a third of India's 630 districts and they have spread into rural pockets in 20 of 28 states.

The Maoists claim they are fighting for the rights of the poor and landless and want to defeat the government. they have stepped up attacks in recent months. The latest attack will put further pressure on the Congress party-led government to bring in the military to tackle the insurgency.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Maoist insurgency as India's biggest internal security challenge.