Ranchi/lLatehar: A train with nearly 75 passengers on board hijacked by Naxals was released by the rebels after over four hours of detention in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Wednesday.
"All passengers are safe. The train has left on its onward journey," Senior Divisional Railway Manager, Dhanbad, Neeraj Ambast said.
The train was seized by the Maoists at 0730 hrs (IST) in the morning near Hehegarha railway station and released at 1139 hrs IST, according to A K Chandra, CPRO, East Central Zone of the Railways.
Naxalites struck across Jharkhand and Bihar a day before the states go to polls in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections.
The BDM passenger train running between Mughalsarai and Barwadi was held between Hehegada and Kumandih stations of Dhanbad Eastern Central Railway division, they said.
Nearly 75 passengers on the train are stated to be safe as of now but train movement on the route has been disrupted.
"The Maoists stopped the Gomo-Mogulsarai BDM train this morning. About 70 to 75 passengers are in the train," Latehar Deputy Commissioner Sarvendu Tathagat said, adding, "The target of the Maoists are the police, and the police are moving cautiously to the place," he added.
Dhanbad division railway spokesperson Amrendra Das said that the trains were running peacefully during the day but in the evening the Naxals captured the passenger train which left Mughalsarai at around 1900 hrs and was on its way to Hehegada from Kumandih.
He said the driver and the guard could not be contacted as the Naxals must have snatched their walky-talky and other communication equipment.
There was no news of any train accident on the route and it was difficult to reach there during the night as there was no road, he added.
Das said driver of a goods train coming from the opposite direction tried to find out the reason but the Naxals did not allow him to do so.
According to police, a group of Maoists warned the station master against any movement of trains during their bandh.
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