Shashank Shekhar
Dhanbad ( Jharkhand) : More than three dozen armed naxalites blew up 1.50 metre railway track between Chichaki and Karmabandh railway stations in Giridih on Grand chord route falling in Dhanbad railway division of East Central Railway (ECR) after May 28, 2017, midnight. The spot where the track was blown up is hardly 21 km away from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Gomoh station.
While one group of naxalites were targeting railway property on grand chord route, another group of naxalites, which included women, later set afire an excavator and diesel pump belonging to a road construction company engaged in construction of road under Birni police station in Giridih district at village Garhagur shouting those who refusing to pay levy will face the same consequence.
Later in Girdih district, another group of Maoists blocked Girdih-Dumri main road near Dhawatand (Madhuban) seeing an SUV moving on road despite the Maoists bandh call forced the driver to stop it and after pushing him out of the vehicle set it ablaze.
Due to blast on railway track several trains including Kolkatta Rajdhani, Hatia Rajdhani and Bhuvneshwar Rajdhani besides Howrah—Dehradun Express, Kalka Mail and more than 10 other passenger trains and dozens of Goods train were forced to stop at different station between Dhanbad and Gaya Junction fearing further naxal attacks. Movement of train started after 8 am on May 29, 2017, after the damaged tracks were repaired.
Soon after the report of blast and attacks in Girdih reached the Jharkhand police headquarters, cops were instructed to remain stationed at their places of posting and police barracks rather than challenge the naxalites at the odd hours to avoid getting ambushed. At about 5.30 am on May 29, cops and RPF men posted at Hazaribagh road station rushed to the spot while Girdih SP A K Bariar also reached the track blast site and started operation against the naxalites.
ADG (Operations and police spokesperson) Raj Kumar Mallick stated that as railway property is a soft target desperate and frustrated naxalites attack railway tracks to just to make their presence felt.