Maoists dangle bomb in train

ROURKELA/JAMSHEDPUR: After lying low for a while in Saranda area, Maoists struck terror on Monday night. The rebels detained a passenger train in neighbouring Jharkhand, dangled a can bomb in the engine, killed a village man and then engaged the security forces triggering an intense exchange of fire.No casualty has been reported from either side in the firing, which took place on Tuesday, about 20 km from Jareikela in Sundargarh district.Armed Maoists detained the Bilaspur-bound Tata-Bilaspur passenger train around 9.30 pm at  nondescript Posoita station in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district. They took the train driver and guard hostage, pasted posters in the train and placed a can bomb in the engine to terrorise the railway employees.West Singhbhum district SP A K Singh said the train ran for some time with the can bomb dangling from the engine till it reached Manoharpur station, where the bomb was removed and defused.Chakradhar-based divisional spokesperson of South Eastern Railway (SER) K N Biswas said some ‘miscreants’ had detained the train and pasted posters. Reports said the passengers of Tata-Bilaspur train were disembarked at Manoharpur station and accommodated in Howrah-Kurla Express. Suspecting the detention of the train to be the handiwork of the Habil Charwa and Sandip squad of the Maoists, a quick response team of CRPF launched a massive hunt and came across the ultras at Saranda forest near Salai village this morning, Singh said.An encounter lasting 45 minutes followed before the ultras fled, the SP said, adding there was no casualty on the police side. A combing operation is underway.Last night, the Maoists had beheaded a villager, Ramlal Kayam, at Kudaburu under Sonua police station suspecting him to be a police informer, Singh said.ASP (Operation) Shambhu Kumar said ahead of their 24-hour shutdown call beginning Tuesday midnight, the Maoists resorted to the publicity tactics to draw attention towards them. On Sunday night also posters were pasted at Jharkhand’s Derua, Goilkera and Posoita stations.