Maoists blow up railway tracks in Jharkhand, Bihar

Maoists blew up railway tracks in Latehar district of Jharkhand and Vaishali district of Bihar on Saturday, the first day of a two-day Jharkhand-Bihar bandh called by them.

Maoists blew up a stretch of railway track between Chhipadohar and Barwadih railway stations in Latehar district, railway sources said. "The track has been blown up between Chhipadohar and Barwadih railway stations. Rajdhani Express is at Kumandih railway station in Latehar district," Divisional Commander of the Railway Protection Force Shashi Kumar told PTI over phone.

Earlier in the day, the Maoists blew up railway track on Muzaffarpur-Hajipur section under Sonepur division of the East-Central Railway in Bihar's Vaishali district, affecting train services on the route for several hours.

A group of Maoists detonated explosives on the railway track near Ghoswar village under Sadar police station in the morning to disrupt railway traffic on Muzaffarpur-Hajipur section, railway sources said. About half a foot long track got totally damaged in the Maoists' attack, they said.

Ten trains, including Avadh-Assam Express, Sabarmati Express, Amrapali Express, Lichchavi Express, Maurya Express, Samparkanti Express, Gwalior-Barauni Express, remained stranded at various destinations for several hours, the sources said.

Railway engineers later repaired the tracks to facilitate movement of trains on this route, they said.

The Maoists have called a two-day bandh in Jharkhand and Bihar starting today to protest killing of several of their top leaders in clash with another insurgent group in Chatra district of Jharkhand on March 28.