Maoist bandh: 8 killed in WB, Bihar, Orissa

Kolkata/Patna/Bhubaneswar: Maoists today unleashed widespread violence claiming eight lives in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa during their 24-hour Bharat bandh against US President Barack Obama's India visit.

While four persons fell to the bullets of Naxals in West Bengal, two each were gunned down in Bihar and Orissa.

Motorcycle-borne assailants gunned down Kanai Ray, a former CPI-M panchayat pradhan at Patashimul gram panchayat in West Bengal's West Midnapore district in the afternoon, officials said.

Rashbehari Mahato, Sandhya Mahato and Sheikh Wajed Ali were abducted last night from Kishmatganakata village in Jhargram subdivision in the district and their bullet-riddled bodies were found on the road nearby this morning, they said.

In Bankura district, joint forces busted a Maoist camp at Lithla forest in the Ranibandh police station area, from which a large number of weapons and landmines were seized, police said.

In Bihar, two bomb disposal squad personnel Vijay Kumar and Jai Chand of Bihar Military Police were killed and four others injured when an explosive planted by Maoists at Bankebazar in Gaya district went off, DGP Neelmani said.

Two Special Armed Police personnel and two media persons were also injured. They were admitted to hospital, he said.

In Muzaffarpur district, ten wagons of a goods train derailed after Maoists blew up railway track with dynamite, Neelmani said.

The wagons derailed after passing over the damaged tracks disrupting services since 3 am. Rail traffic was later restored after the bomb disposal squad checked the tracks, he said.

In Gaya district, four trucks were burnt by a group of 100 ultras late last night in the Amas police station area, the DGP said.

In another incident in the district, heavily armed ultras exchanged fire with security personnel at Maigra high school in the jurisdiction of the Dumaria police station area.

Sources said Maoists blasted two mobile towers at Madanpur and Rafiganj in Aurangabad district late last night.

In Orissa, Maoists shot dead two persons and burnt their motorbikes in Nabarangpur district and demolished a school building in Malkangiri district.

The bullet-riddled bodies of the two were found at Timanpur-Binaypur under Raighhar police station last night, Nabarangpur Superintendent of Police Prafulla Barik said.

The Maoists left behind hand-written posters near the bodies alleging they had been collecting money in the name of the ultras, he said.

In Malkangiri district, armed Maoists blew up a newly constructed, two storey school building with dynamite, police sources said.