Dy Commandant among five CRPF men killed in Lalgarh blast

Midnapore, May 19 (PTI) Five personnel of Central Reserve
Police Force (CRPF), including a Deputy Commandant, were
killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxalites at Lalgarh in
West Bengal on Wednesday, the second day of a bandh called by
the left wing extremists in five Indian states.

Deputy Commandant Vijay Pal Singh, hailing from Churu
district of Rajasthan, was among the CRPF personnel who lost
their lives in the explosion at Kadasole near Ramgarh in
Lalgarh police station area of West Midnapore district.
The incident comes a day after Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram asked the Naxals to abjure violence and come
forward for talks.
Official sources said the CRPF men had set out from their
camp at Goaltore market to patrol nearby villages and to visit
another camp when the blast took place at 1130 hours.
"Five CRPF personnel, including the Deputy Commandant,
were killed while one was injured in the IED blast set off
by Naxals," a senior CRPF officer said.
The other deceased have been identified as Head constable
B L Santara, constables D K Samanta, D Ramesh and Rakesh Kumar
while another constable N K Ghosh was injured.
Sources said the personnel were travelling in two
vehicles through the state highway. "As soon as they crossed a
small bridge, the vehicle in the front was blown up," they
said.
The blast left a five-feet deep crater on the road.
Deputy Commandant Singh, who was initially admitted to
the Midnapore Hospital, succumbed to his injuries while being
evacuated by a helicopter to Kolkata, the sources said.
Lalgarh has been a hotbed of Naxalite activities since
the last couple of years and a joint CRPF-state police
operation was launched in June last year to re-capture the
areas controlled by Maoists there.
The latest attack by Maoists came just two days after
they blew up a civilian bus in Dantewada district of
Chhattisgarh killing at least 35 people. After that incident,
Chidambaram had made a fresh offer to hold talks if they
"suspend" violence even for just 72 hours but the left wing
extremists rejected it. PTI SAP
DEP