Maoists blow up railway tracks

Suspected CPI(Maoist) guerrillas blew up railway tracks and a portion of government complex housing the office of Block Development Officer (BDO) in Bihar's naxal-hit Jamui district in the wee hours today to protest the recent arrest of its self-styled area commander.

Scores of Maoist rebels blasted the up and down track between Narganjo and Ghorparan stations under Eastern Railway at around 1 am disrupting movement of trains on Patna-Howrah route, police and railway sources said.

Nearly half a dozen trains including Howrah-Delhi Lalquila Express and Gorakhpur-Hatia Maurya Express were stranded at Jhajha and Jasidih stations.

The naxalites also exploded a bomb on the up track near Ghoghi-Bariarpur village on Jamalpur-Kiul section in Munger district just past midnight damaging the line and disrupting railway traffic. An explosive planted on the down track did not explode and was being defused, railway sources said.

The naxalites of the banned outfit attacked a government complex at Lakshmipur in Jamui district housing the offices of the BDO, Circle Officer and the local police station around the same time.

They blasted a portion of the the block office using dynamites but failed to cause any further damage as police and Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) jawans put up stiff resistance forcing the naxalites to retreat, Superintendent of Police Vinay Kumar said, adding no casualties were reported.

The SP has rushed to the spot with reinforcements and a combing operation has been launched.

The Maoists have called a 24-hour bandh in five East Bihar districts - Jamui, Munger, Bhagalpur, Lakhisarai and Banka - to protest the arrest and alleged custodial torture of a self-styled ' area commander' Kamlesh alias Deepak on July six.

Today's incidents come within 48 hours of the killing of former Jharkhand minister and JD(U) legislative party leader Ramesh Singh Munda and three others by the naxalites.

The Maoist rebels had blasted railway tracks in Bihar's Saran and Muzaffarpur districts, disrupting train movements on the Patna-Guwahati and Muzaffarpur-Narkatiaganj during a nation-wide shutdown called on July two to protest alleged police torture of one of their comrades.

Exactly a month ago on June two, the activists of the banned outfit, had blown up both up and down tracks between Narganjo and Ghorparan stations in Jamui district during a bandh called in five east Bihar districts.

The passengers of Gorakhpur-Howrah Poorvanchal Express had a miraculous escape then when the train ran through the damaged track barely minutes after it was blown up.

In a daring attack on Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) police stations at Jhajha station, also in Jamui district on April 13 this year, the Maoists had killed five policemen and looted 45 rifles and over 1000 rounds of ammunition.