Maoists blow up rail tracks in Jharkhand

RANCHI - Maoist guerrillas early Monday blew up rail tracks in Jharkhand’s Giridih district, affecting services of over 30 trains, a railway official said.

“Maoist rebels blew up railway tracks near Karmabandh at 1.50 a.m. Monday. The blast affected the services of more than 30 trains, including three Rajdhani express trains,” Amrendra Das, public relations officer (PRO) of the Dhanbad railway division, told IANS.

He said the damaged tracks are being repaired.

The trains that have been affected include the Howrah-New Delhi, Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani express, Sealdah Rajdhani, Howrah Rajdhani, Yuva Express, Nilanchal Express, LTT Hatia Express and Ganga-Satlaj Express among others.

The rebels have called a 48-hour shutdown from Monday in seven states to protest the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad in Andhra Pradesh.