Midnapore: Four jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been killed in a landmine blast triggered by the Maoists near Ramgarh in West Midnapore district of West Bengal.
The landmine blew up the vehicle in which they were travelling.
Sources say the number of casualties may increase as several jawans have also been injured. They have been brought to a hospital in Midnapore.
The jawans were staying at a camp at Kadashole. An advance party had reportedly given a go ahead for the vehicle full of jawans to proceed.
This was the second Maoist-triggered landmine blast in the state today.
In the first blast that happened at 2 am in the morning, the engine of a goods train was damaged and the engine driver and his assistant were injured in a blast on rail tracks between Jhargram and Khatkura stations near the Bengal border.
(Read: Naxals blast rail track in Bengal, trains diverted)The blast disrupted train traffic on both the up and the down lines as overhead wires snapped.
Wednesday's attacks come just two days after a bus was blown up in Chhattisgarh killing 31 people, including 16 Special Police Officers (SPOs).
There is an alert across five states - Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand - following the call for a bandh by Maoist leader Kishenji on Tuesday.