Rail services severely affected due to Maoist-sponsored bandh

Ranchi, Sep 23 (UNI) The CPI(Maoists) damaged a railway station building and blew up railway tracks under Dhanbad division during the ultras' 24-hour bandh since midnight.

Railway services between Mughalsarai and Gaya were disrupted for about 15 hours after railway tracks were damaged by cane bombs at Chengro railway station under Dhanbad division.

Official sources here today said that overhead wire of 25,000 volt was also damaged due to the explosion.

According to information received from the state police headquarters, no casualty was reported in the state so far.

In Palamu district, the building of Kajrat Nawadih station under Mughalsarai rail division of Eastern Central Railways was also damaged in a bomb explosion.

Reports from Daltonganj said armed ultras attacked the railway station and manhandled the station manager late last night.

The production of coal was also adversely affected in the Bharat Coking Coal Limited and Central Coal Fields limited mines due to the bandh.

The ultras had called the bandh across Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar in protest against the arrest of polit bureau members Tusharkant Bhattacharya and Brijmohan Rai by the Bihar police on September 19.

Police sources said a red alert had been sounded in the naxal-dominated areas and special instructions sent to all the superintendents of police throughout Jharkhand.

Deputy Inspector General (Personnel) R K Mallik said special care would be taken on rail routes and patrolling by Railway Police Force and government Railway Police had been arranged at all stations, including Chandrapura and Gomoh, to avert any untoward incident.

A report from Koderma said movement of heavy vehicles on the national highway had also been affected. Long distance buses remained stranded.

Railway sources said the Patna-Barkakan Palamu Express, Gomoh-Choupan-Chunar passenger, Gomoh-Barwadih passenger, Gomoh-Mughalsarai passenger and, Barkakana-Mughalsarai passenger, Barkakan-Barwadih passenger, Barwadih-Dehri-on-Sone passenger and Barwadih-Chupan-Chunar passenger trains had been cancelled for today.

The routes of Howrah-Jabalpur Shaktipunj Express, Ranchi-Benaras Intercity, Tata-Jammu Tawi Express and Jharkhand Swarnjayanti had been changed, the sources added.

UNI