Maoists blow up railway track in Jharkhand

It is suspected the militants' strike was in protest against the arrest of three of their leaders, including a woman, last week.

Maoist rebels blew up a portion of the railway track in Giridih district of Jharkhand, around 230 km from Ranchi, police said on Sunday.

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"Rebels had blown up around a metre of the railway track between Chandero and Chaudhary Bandh railway stations around 3 am on Sunday," said the state's Director General of Police JB Mahapatra.

He said: "However, the railway track has been repaired and the train services have resumed after a disruption for nearly six hours."

It is suspected the militants' strike was in protest against the arrest of three of their leaders, including a woman, last week.

The Maoists earlier said the three arrested leaders are members of their cultural wing and they have nothing to do with the fight against security forces.