Maoists blow up rail track in Bihar
By IANSSunday, February 7, 2010
PATNA - Armed Maoists blew up a railway track in Bihar’s Jamui district early Sunday to enforce a 72-hour long strike called by them against a proposed security operation against the rebels, officials said.
The guerrillas blasted a track near Narganjo station in Jamui, about 170 km from here. Narganjo is situated on the Patna-Howrah rail route of the East Central Railway.
“Maoists blew up the railway track to enforce their strike starting Saturday midnight,” a police official in Jamui said.
A railway official in the district said the blast disrupted rail traffic on the route and repair work was under way.
“Over half a dozen long route express trains were halted at different railway stations after the incident,” the official said.
The strike call by Maoists evoked a mixed response in Bihar as urban areas remained unaffected but normal life was hit in villages.
An official in the home department said the Maoists’ strike call evoked no response in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Purnea but affected life in Aurangabad, Jehanabad, Arwal and Gaya districts that are considered Maoist strongholds.
