Naxals attack on train leaves 3 dead, 5 injured

Over 150 armed Maoists on Thursday carried out an attack on a Patna-bound train, killing three persons, including a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan, and injuring five others in Bihar's Naxal-affected Jamui district before looting passengers and fleeing with weapons.

Police and railway officials said RPF jawan Sukhnath D Singh and a passenger were killed in the attack, while Kumar Amit, a Patna-based Bihar police sub-inspector, was found dead in an air- conditioned coach when the Dhanbad-Patna Inter-City Express reached Keul at Lakhisarai, East Central Railway Chief Public Relation Officer Amitabh Prabhakar and Lakhisarai DSP Vijay Prasad said.

In another Left-wing related violence, three people were killed by Naxals yesterday night in Mahashtra's Gadchiroli district, the state home minister said on Thursday.

Gadchiroli Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ravindra Kadam said security has been intensified following the incident.

Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, Mohammed Suvez Haque said the bodies have been brought to Etapalli for post mortem.

Five persons, identified as K P Singh (train guard), Manoj Kumar Singh (railway employee at Jamalpur), Dharmendra Sah (Lakhisarai), P K Tripathi (Patna) and Satish Kumar (Muzaffarpur) suffered injuries and were given treatment at Keul station, Prabhakar said, adding Manoj Kumar Singh's condition was stated to be serious.

The Maoists forcibly stopped the train near Kunder Halt between Jamui and Mananpur railway stations, about 170 km from Patna, at 1320 hours and fired indiscriminately for about half-an-hour, Additional Director -General of Police, Law and Order, S K Bharadwaj said.

The Maoists also looted weapons from two RPF personnel and later let the train go towards its onward journey after that, he said.

Minister of State for Railway Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the Maoists were looking for soft targets to create a fear psychosis.

"They are now cornered. That is why they are now looking for soft targets," he said.

In Delhi, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said CRPF personnel had been rushed to the trouble spot.

Meanwhile, The Centre has announces Rs 5 lakh compesation for those killed and Rs 1 lakh for injured in the attack.