Maoists begin day-long bandh, blow up railway track in Jharkhand

Maoists began their day-long bandh in Jharkhand on Sunday midnight by blowing up a railway track on the Howrah-New Delhi Grand Chord section on, disrupting movement of several trains including the Rajdhani Express.

The Maoists have called the bandh to protest the amendment to century-old land acts of the state, the Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act and Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act and the new domicile policy.

Superintendent of Police (Railway), Dhanbad, Asim Vikrant Minz said the track was blown up between Chichaki-Karmabad stations under Dhanbad Railway Division at around 12.40 AM, shortly after the bandh began on Sunday midnight.

Several long-distance trains including Kalka Mail, three Rajdhani Express trains, Hatia-Patna Express, Howrah-Dehradun Express were stranded following the incident, Railway sources said. Many goods trains were also regulated at different places.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Dhanbad), A K Jha said, Railway services on the route were restored after 7.40 am.

Railway officials and Railway Protection Police force from Hazaribagh had rushed to the spot immediately after the explosion, the police said.

In another incident, Maoists torched a vehicle at Dhawatand on Dumri road during the bandh called by them in support of their various demands, Giridih Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh B Beriar, said.

They also set ablaze an earth moving machine of a contractor engaged in constructing a bridge over Barakar river on Dumri-Birni border in the district, sub-divisional police officer, Deepak Sharma said.

A Lohardaga report said the bandh has evoked partial response as most of the shops and markets were open but long- distance buses did not ply.

Adequate security arrangement have been made in Lohardaga as well as Naxal-hit Khunti districts in view of the bandh.