Maoists blow up railway track in Dhanbad

Maoists blew up a railway track in Dhanbad rail division, disrupting train services in Jharkhand as the two-day nationwide bandh called by the banned CPI (Maoist) entered the second day on Monday. The Maoists exploded IEDs on the tracks between Nishitpur and Matari railway stations late on Sunday night, according to Divisional Operative Manager Ved Prakash.

The impact of the explosion also damaged overhead wires, he said, adding the explosion took place after Dhanbad-Kharagpur passenger train crossed the tracks around 11 PM.

Over 30 trains were stranded at different places with some being diverted, he said, adding train services were expected to resume around noon after the repair work.

Divisional Railway Manager Sudhir Kumar and other senior railway officials have reached the spot.

Meanwhile, long distance buses and trucks continued to stay off the roads to avoid any untoward incidents during the bandh even as police patrolling was intensified on NH and other important places, according police sources.