WB: Maoist rebels torch rly station near Purulia

Purulia, June 27: Maoist rebels today set fire the Birambi station, 55 kms from here, disrupting train services in busy Adra division of South Eastern Railway badly as the CPI(Moaist) sponsored 48-hour Economic Blocade that entered the second day to protest setting of Special Economic Zone (SEZs) in four states.

SER's senior divisional manager Kali Shankar Mukherjee told UNI that some 40/45 Maoist rebels raided the Birambi station, about 285 kms west of Kolkata, at the wee hours today and torched the station.

He said the ultras first asked three railway employees and as many unarmed RPF personnel to leave the station and then sprayed kerosene and set afire the station damaging vital installations inclding signals and communciation facilities.

They, however, did not harm any dutymen there.

The station exactly located under Adra division of Purulia and Chandil section bordering Jharkhand, about 285 kms west of Kolkata.

Birambi station's assistant manager Daneswar Mundar said that some 45 armed ultras were involved in the arsons.

Combing operations launched by the security men today detected three live bombs on the railway tracks, one kms west of Birambi station and efforts were on to defuse them.

The arsons forced the railway authorities to divert some express trains including Chennai-Guwahati and Bhubasneswar-Sampark Kranti super fast via Kotshila and Tata Nagar.

A few local passenger trains were also cancelled today to avoid any casualty as the bombs were yet to be defused.

Armed securitymen led by superintendent of police, Purulia, Ahoke Kumar Prasad and high railway officials arrived at the Birambi station to assess the situation.

The Maoists called 48-hour Economic Blockade, that began yesterday, in four contiguous states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh to force the governments to suspend the proposed SEZs.

Meanwhile, a team of armed policemen from Jharkhand arrived here to assist their Bengal counterpart to launch combing operation against the arsonists.

A bomb disposal squad from Kolkata is expected here by this noon to defuse three live bombs detected on the tracks near Birambi station.

UNI