State-wide bandh total in Jharkhand

Ranchi, Oct 28: Jharkhand today showed total support to the state-wide bandh to protest yesterday's Naxal attack, in which 19 people killed and 12 injured.

Reports from different districts stated that the bandh, called by Jharkhand Vikash Morcha, was total.

No untoward incident has been reported from any part of the state so far.

There was no movement on the national highways, sources said adding that the railway authorities had cancelled and rescheduled many trains. The Howrah-Delhi and Sealdah-Rajdhani Express trains were halted near Dhanbad rail division for pasengers' safety. Only a few private vehicles were seen plying on the roads of the capital city, sources said adding that some stray incidents of people pelting the vehicles with stones were reported in some localties in the city.

Reports from Giridih, where naxalites massacred 19 people, including former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi's son, said the people responded to the bandh spontaneously.

The roads wore a deserted look as the people remained indoors sending a message of growing displeasure with the underground elements.

''Earlier the Maoists restricted their operations only against the security personnel but recently the ultras have targetted the civillians after their plan to kill Jamshedpur MP Sunil Mahto on March four came to the fore, a senior police oficer said.

At Lohardaga, the JVM workers had taken out a silent procession and burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Madhu Koda near Powerganj Chowk last evening.

Traffic was disrupted in the district following the bandh.

People in other districts-Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Daltonganj, Dumka, and Koderma- have also responded totally to the bandh.

UNI