Maoists in Jharkhand Blow Up Railway Tracks, 13 Trains Cancelled

West Singhbhum, 22nd Dec. Members of the banned CPI (Maoist) blew up a section of railway tracks in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on December 22, halting train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route for many hours.

At least 13 trains were cancelled and one has been diverted due to the incident, a railway official said. At least 13 trains were cancelled and one has been diverted due to the incident, a railway official said.

The incident occurred late on December 21 night in the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway between Mahadevsal and Posoita stations, around 150 km from the state capital Ranchi, West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Sekhar said. “Security has been tightened in the locality. The repair work on the railway tracks has been started from early morning,” he said, adding that Maoists also put up banners and posters in the area.

Train operations in the Chakradharpur Division began about 8.15 a.m. on December 22, according to Assistant Commercial Manager Vinit Kumar.