Maoists explode mine in W Bengal, one injured

A land mine exploded in West Midnapore district by Maoists, injuring a paramilitary trooper.

Hours after a train bombing killed six people, a land mine exploded by Maoists broke the Tuesday morning peace of West Midnapore district in West Bengal, injuring a paramilitary trooper.

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Police said the landmine exploded around 8 am at Hatidoba under Belpahari, 250 km from here, seriously injuring the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel on patrol.

Belpahari, considered a Maoist citadel, is a thickly forested area. The blast preceded a shutdown called by the Maoists in the state Dec 14.

On Sep 21, at least two policemen of a bomb disposal squad were killed and several others, including photojournalists and police officials, seriously injured when a landmine planted by the Maoists exploded in Lalgarh area of West Midnapore district.

Maoists also killed a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader and his bodyguard the same month in the district.

Anil Mahato, the local committee secretary of CPI-M at Shilda in West Midnapore, and his AK-47 equipped guard Dinesh Baskey were shot dead in one of the biggest attacks since this year's assembly elections in the Maoist-affected district.

At least six people were killed and 41 injured on Monday evening when a blast ripped through a compartment of the Haldibari-New Jalpaiguri passenger train at the Belakoba station, 615 km from here.