Tracks blown up in Jharkhand

Naxals blew up a small portion of railway track in Jharkhand and set ablaze a mobile tower's rest room in Bihar, while life was peaceful in West Bengal and Odisha on the concluding day on Monday of two-day 'Bharat bandh' called by the rebels.

In Jharkhand, the Naxals set off IEDs damaging a metre of railway track and the overhead wires between Nishitpur and Matari railway stations after the Dhanbad-Kharagpur passenger train passed around 11 pm last night, Divisional Operative Manager Ved Prakash. Over 30 trains were stranded at different places, he said.

Long-distance buses and trucks stayed off the roads with the police patrolling national highways.

In Bihar, a group of 70 Naxals set fire to the rest room of a mobile tower in Rajpur Kaul Marpa village in East Champaran district, Phenhara police station in-charge Subhash Kumar said.

In Odisha, shops and business establishments remained closed in Kalimela, Motu, Padia and Chitrakonda areas of Malkangiri district and Suundergarh district bordering Jharkhand, police said.

Passengers faced a tough time as buses and other vehicles remained off the roads in Maoist-hit areas, including Malkangiri, Rayagada and Sundargarh for the second consecutive day, officials said.

In West Bengal, life was peaceful and largely unaffected in three districts comprising Junglemahal.

Train services were also normal with a pilot engines running ahead of trains. In Jhargram town, banks, post offices and shops were closed and transport was off the roads.

The picture was the same in the Maoist-hit Binpur, Belpahari, Jamboni and Lalgarh police stations areas which are near the Jharkhand border, they said.

In Purulia district, life was normal with offices and shops open, but buses were off the roads. Trinamool Congress workers took out a procession in Raipur police station area opposing the bandh, they said.

Shops were closed in Raipur, Ranibandh, Sarenga and Simplipal areas.