Maoists torch an excavator machine in Bihar

Niyamatpur (Bihar), July 16 (ANI): Maoists set ablaze a JCB excavator, an earthmoving machine at Niyamatpur in Bihar's Gaya District.

In the midnight hours of the intervening period of Tuesday and Wednesday, a group of Maoists raided a place near Niyamatpur and set ablaze a JCB excavator machine.

Police said that the rebels torched the excavator machine when they did not find anybody around.

"Nearly 10 men came. When they did not find anybody around, they set ablaze a JCB excavator machine. Fortunately, the engine of the machine is safe," said Rajbansh Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police.

Niyamatpur halt is located along the Patna-Gaya railway line and work is underway for doubling the tracks.

At least 36 policemen were ambushed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh on Sunday.

The Maoists have recently stepped up attacks against police, officials and civilians away from remote rural areas and closer to towns and cities across India.

Hundreds of Maoists, who are expanding their influence in India, had declared the town of Lalgarh about 170 km from Kolkata, as a "liberated zone" recently before they fled in face of police action.

Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of poor farmers and landless labourers, are expanding their influence in east, central and southern India. (ANI)