Jharkhand fall out: Naxal-affected states to meet

New Delhi, Mar 14: The Union Home Ministry has convened a high-level meeting of naxal-affected states here on March 31 to take stock of the naxal situation.

Chief Secretaries and Directors-General of Police of 13 states affected by naxalism will attend the meeting, convened by Home Secretary V K Duggal.

The date for the meeting was decided today in the backdrop of increasing incidences of naxal attacks, including the detention of a passenger train by Maoists in Jharkhand for nearly 12 hours since 1903 hrs last evening.

Home Ministry sources said a massive and combing operation has been launched to nab the extremists who detained the passenger train in Latehar district of Jharkhand yesterday.

"All exit routes are being watched. The Centre is in constant touch with the State Government," sources said.

Mr Duggal spoke to the Jharkhand Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police. Four companies of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been rushed to the scene of the incident.

In a report sent to the Union Home Ministry, the Jharkhand Government has informed that extremists detained the Barkakana-Dehri-Mugalsarai passenger train between Hehegaraha and Kumandih railway stations near Antikheta village of Latehar district yesterday evening.

On getting information about the incident, police parties with sufficient re-enforcement reached the spot. The police party found the train with a partially damaged driver-seat and transformer of the engine and the naxalites having fled the scene.

All the passengers were absolutely safe. The extremists who were about 50 in number had snatched walkie-talkies from the guard and the driver and fired twelve rounds in the air.

Empty cartridges have been recovered from the site. Nobody has been injured in the firing. Another engine was sent to the place of occurrence and the train left the spot at about 0805 hrs today.

Normalcy has been restored and the railway traffic has resumed, sources said.

UNI