Naxals strike Jharkhand, Bihar ahead of second phase of polling

Ranchi/ Patna, Apr 22 (ANI): With just a day left for the second phase of general elections, the Naxals have attacked at several places in Bihar and Jharkhand to impose a shut-down in the two states.

The latest incident has happened in Jharkhand this morning, where the Naxals took 700-800 people hostage as they were travelling in a train from Barkana in Jharkhand to Mugalsarai in Uttar Pradesh.

Naxals later freed passengers on board hijacked train.

The train was hijacked at around 7 a.m.

The Naxals had taken the train to the Latehar Railway Station. Four helicopters and the Railway Protection Force were called in to monitor the situation.

In another attack in Jharkhand, the Maoists bombed the Utari Railway Station in Palamu District.

The incident happened minutes before the Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express was scheduled to pass from the station.

On Tuesday night, the Naxals created a ruckus at Bihar's Gaya, Aurangabad and Motihari District.

In Gaya, the Naxal rebels set on fire three oil tankers and five trucks on main GT road in Gaya District. A truck driver was shot at and is reportedly in critical condition.

The Naxals blew up a community centre in the Deo block of Aurangabad District.

No causalities were reported.

Naxals have also captured a polling station in the Aadapur block of Motihari District. They have wired it with two bombs.

Previously, the Naxals had disrupted the first phase of the five-phased general elections.

On April 16, the Naxals had struck at 14 places, killing at least 16 people.

The first attack took place in Jharkhand's Latehar District, in which nine people including seven BSF personnel were killed.

A day before the first phase of polling on April 15, over 100 Naxals had stormed the BSF camp in Bihar's Sasaram District armed with automatic guns and rocket launchers, but the camp was finally secured after a counter attack that forced the rebels to flee.

The encounter left at least one BSF soldier injured.

On April 12 night, seven CISF personnel and four Maoists were killed in a gun-battle that took place when hundreds of ultras attacked an ammunition store and bauxite mine of NALCO in Orissa's Koraput District. (ANI)