Maoists blow up railway track in Jharkhand, train movement hit
The track was blown up between Chichaki and Karmabad stations under Dhanbad railway division of East Central Railway at around 12.40 am, shortly after the Jharkhand bandh, called by Maoists, began.
Suspected Maoists blew up a railway tracks on the Howrah-New Delhi Grand Chord section in the wee hours of Monday, disrupting movement of several trains, including the Rajdhani Express.
The blast site, between Chichaki and Karmabad stations in Koderma district of Jharkhand, is 100 km away from Bihar’s Gaya district.
Maoists have called Jharkhand bandh on Monday and the incident is considered to be part of their strategy aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear among the general public.
Railway police at Gaya said the track was blown up between Chichaki and Karmabad stations under Dhanbad railway division of East Central Railway at around 12.40 am, shortly after the bandh began.
The blast blew up the track on the down line and damaged the overhead cable just before Hatia-Patna Express was to pass. The train was detained at Gomoh following the explosion, while many other long-distance trains, including Kalka Mail, Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani, Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani, Sealdah-New Delhi Rajdhani, Mumbai Mail and Howrah-Dehradun Express, were stranded at various stations following the incident. The train services resumed at 7.30 am after tracks were repaired.
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Superintendent of rail police (Patna) Jitendra Mishra said, “The tracks have been repaired and traffic resumed. We have already sounded alert and instructed the rail police to keep close vigil on movement of trains. We have also issued two helpline numbers, 1512 (GRP) and 182 (RPSF) for the passengers. Our men are conducting search operations in all important trains. All passengers and crew members have been asked to inform police immediately on noticing any objectionable material in trains.”
The Maoists have called the bandh to protest the amendment to century-old land acts of Jharkhand, the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and the new domicile policy.