Maoists blow up a section of Howrah-Mumbai railway track in Jharkhand

RANCHI: During the daylong ‘Bharat bandh' called by Maoists on Monday, they blew up a railway track on the Howrah-Mumbai main line in West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

Maoists blew up the track by activating a landmine between Lotapahar and Sonua stations in Chakradharpur rail division around 2:30 am on Monday, according to Jharkhand police.

ALSO READ: Australia bans direct passenger flights from India until May 15

“An IED weighing 20-25 kg blew up about 3.5 feet of rail track. We believe the sabotage was carried out by a local Maoist squad operating in the area,” said police.

The busy line's train traffic was disrupted for a few hours before being restored, according to the police. Officials from the railway swung into action after a loco pilot reported hearing noise on the track and seeing a red banner.

According to the sources, during the site investigation, it was discovered that the main line track had been sabotaged. The blasted rail fragments were discovered up to 35 metres away from the site. After receiving security clearance, restoration work began immediately.

At 7.15 am, the down line threw a fit, and at 8.35 am, the third line threw a fit. The line is now moving again.

Follow us on Facebook