Raipur: Maoists on Monday blocked a key national highway in Chhattisgarh and damaged a rail track on the second day of their 48-hour shutdown even as three rebels were held with explosives in Bastar region.
"Roads are dug up and heavy wooden logs are placed at dozen of places on a national highway in Bastar region between Sukma and Konta areas in Dantewada district," a police officer said.
He said the rebels damaged a portion of rail track at Bacheli area in Dantewada that has halted iron ore shipment by public sector mining major NMDC Ltd.
Also, a patrolling team of the Special Task Force and the District Force arrested three rebels with some explosives early Monday from the Mardum locality of Bastar region.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) have called for a two-day Bharat Bandh from December 4-5 to protest the killing of its top leader Malojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishenji in West Bengal recently.
Though no violence was reported from any part of the state, life has come to a standstill in the interior areas of the state's sprawling 40,000 sq km mineral-rich Bastar region, besides certain jungle areas of Raipur, Mahasamund and Rajnandgaon districts where residents remained indoors, fearing violence.
IANS
First Published: Monday, December 05, 2011, 12:56