2 killed, 60 injured as Naxalities blow up railway tracks in E India

Indian extreme left-wing Naxalite rebels have struck again and this time by blowing up a railway track as a train was passing by, killing two people and injuring over 60, in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand late Thursday night, a senior police official said Friday.

"The explosion happened late last night and eight coaches of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train derailed near the Posaita station, 120 km from the industrial town of Jamshedpur. The Naxalites targeted this train possibly as it was carrying central security forces to Chhattisgarh for anti-rebel operations," the official said.

Rail traffic has been disrupted for several hours and many trains have been diverted to different routes in Jharkhand where the Naxalites have called for a 24-hour bandh in Jharkhand Friday in protest against the upcoming assembly elections.

Meanwhile, Indian Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday said that prima facie evidence suggested that Thursday night's attack was carried out by Naxals and assured to take up the issue of railway safety with Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

"We will take up the issue with the Union Home Minister. Every day there are kidnappings, obstructions and bomb blasts (taking place). This issue has to be resolved through talks," she told the media in the national capital.

Source: Xinhua