Maoists blow up railway tracks in Bihar

The CPI Maoist rebels have blown up the railway tracks near Bhalui halt station in Lakhisarai district of Bihar in the wee hours today.

Patna, Dec 12 : The CPI Maoist rebels have blown up the railway tracks near Bhalui halt station in Lakhisarai district of Bihar in the wee hours today.

The incident took place at around 2.00 a.m. when some armed men blasted both the up and down lines near Bhalui halt on Jhajha-Kiul section of East Central Railway (ECR), said A K Chandra, ECR Deputy General Manager and Chief Public Relations Officer.

Chandra said the track restoration work is underway and up track has been restored, adding that the down track would be opened within couple of hours.

Traffic would resume on the track after police clearance, he added.

The Maoists fired upon villagers, who rushed to the spot. However, there were no reports of casualties.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the General Railway Police (GRP) personnel have reached the site.

Around 15 trains, including Hatia-Gorakhpur Maurya Express, Howrah-Danapur Express and Amritsar-Howrah Punjab mail were halted at several places under Danapur and Asansol Divisions.

In another incident, the Maoists rebels blew up the single line between Kajra and Urain stations on Kiul-Jamalpur section of Eastern Railway at 3.45 a.m..

The restoration work is underway, said Deepak Jha, Chief Public Relations Officer.

ANI