Maoists blast goods train in Orissa

Maoists in Orissa blasted a goods train, carrying iron ore, ahead of a planned shutdown call to protest against what they call exploitation of local resources.

Darliputt (Orissa), June 24 : Maoists in Orissa blasted a goods train, carrying iron ore, ahead of a planned shutdown call to protest against what they call "exploitation of local resources."

The incident took place in Korput district, close to Bastar in neighbouring Chhattisgarh, where the Maoists have called a two-day strike on June 26-27.

Officials of Darliputt Railway Station said on Saturday that a group of six Maoists forced the stationmaster to stop the goods trains after which they blasted the engine of one train.

A. Shankar, assistant stationmaster at the Darliputt station, said the Maoists set his office records on fire after blasting the train engine.

"Six Maoists came here and ordered me to stop all goods trains running on this track. At first, I did not agree. But later they started threatening me to do it. So, I stopped two goods trains. They collected some material form the drivers of these trains. After that they allowed these trains to go. Later, another goods train came from Kirandul. They blasted that train and set fire to all the records in the station and took away my (wireless) handset and gave me one letter," Shankar said.

The goods trains, running on the route connecting Kirandul to Vishakapatnam steel plant in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, mostly carry iron ore.

Meanwhile, thousands of security personnel have been deployed to guard railways, roads, government offices and mining facilities in Bastar for the two-day strike.

Several private companies, such as Essar Steel Ltd operate in the region as well as India's largest iron ore producer and exporter, the state-run National Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (NMDC).

Earlier this month, rebels destroyed railway tracks in the region and set a conveyor belt on fire at an NMDC plant in the area, costing the company millions of rupees.

ANI