Muzaffarpur, Apr 24 : Five policemen were killed when Maoists triggered a landmine blast on a vehicle carrying a police patrolling party in Bihar''s Muzaffarpur District late on Thursday.

Five policemen died on the spot while the vehicle driver was reported as seriously injured.

"When the security personnel were returning from duty an Improvised Explosive Device blast took place near a bridge. The blast killed everybody except the driver who got seriously injured," said Sudhanshu Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Muzaffarpur.

They were returning after election duties. The security personnel were escorting a vehicle carrying electronic voting machines after the poll when the IED exploded.

Maoists had earlier called for a boycott of the elections.

In the past few weeks, several police personnel and other officials were also fatally attacked across four states (Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa), termed as the ''Red Belt'' due to the presence of ultra Maoist-Leninists. (ANI)