Ranchi/Patna: Maoists set off dynamites in a
school and a panchayat office, blasted railway tracks and
torched a panel room taking some railmen as hostages besides
destroying some mobile phone towers in stepped up violence in
Jharkhand and Bihar.
The Maoists resorted to violent protests for the second
consecutive day against the Centre's move to launch a
crackdown on the banned group during their two-day shutdown
which ended today.
Six railway officials, a station master and his assistant
were also taken hostages after 150 ultras stormed Banshipur
railway station in Bihar's Lakhisarai district but freed them
later with a warning not to allow trains to run during the
shutdown.
The ultras torched a railway panel room and destroyed the
traffic control system at the station, official sources said.
Armed Maoists blasted railway tracks between
Mccluskieganj and Mahuamilan in Jharkhand's Latehar district
which caused 11 rakes of a goods train to derail, Railway PRO
Amrendra Das said.
The driver and staff of the train were unhurt but the
blast disrupted services on both the up and down lines.
Tracks were also blasted by another group of 100 cadres
between Dania and Jageshwarbihar railway stations with
overhead traction wires blown off under its impact, Das said.
In Jharkhand, Maoists damaged three classrooms by
setting off a dynamite at the Nawadih Middle School in Chatra
district, according to SP D B Sharma.
In other incident of violence in Bihar's Munger district,
over 100 ultras blasted a dynamite at a block office at
Sangrampur, which led parts of the building to collapse.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 20:59