Naxals blow up railway tracks

Jamui (Bihar), July 11: Suspected CPI (Maoist) rebels blew up railway tracks at two places in the state within a span of 12 hours during a 24-hour bandh called by them to protest the recent arrest and alleged police torture of one of its self-styled "area commander".

They also blasted a portion of a block office in the district and damaged a railway line in adjoining Lakhisarai.

Naxalites blew up railway tracks between Narganjo and Ghorparan railway stations under Asansol division of Eastern Railway within an hour of its reopening after repairs despite the presence of a large contingent of security forces barely a kilometre away.

Scores of heavily-armed Naxalites triggered explosives to blast the tracks for the second time, disrupting railway traffic on the Patna-Howrah route just an hour after it was restored at 10.30 am, the railway and police sources said.

Earlier, they had blasted the tracks between the two stations around 1 am, causing nearly a dozen trains to remain stranded for several hours at various stations.