PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Nov 20: CPI- Maoist rebels triggered a blast on the railway tracks at Lotapahar in South Eastern Railway’s Chakradharpur railway division in the small hours of Saturday, disrupting train services on the Howrah-Mumbai mainline passing through Tatanagar railway station.
The rebel outfit has given a Bharat Bandh call which came into effect from midnight. The all-India bandh was to protest the recent arrest of politburo member Prashant Bose urf Kishan Da.
Sources said soon after the blast train movement came to a grinding halt on both the Up and Dn lines.
The spot of the blast falls between Sonua and Chakradharpur in neighbouring West Singhbhum district.
A team of railway police comprising Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police reached the spot around 3 am. A bomb disposal squad was also rushed to the spot.
Tatanagar station director H K Balmuchu said all trains in that route were running late as they were detained at various stations after the blast.
The Mumbai- Howrah Mail which had a narrow escape reached eight hours late at the Tatanagar railway station.
Similarly, the Howrah-bound Geetanjali Superfast Express, Howrah- Ahmedabad Express and several other long-distance trains in that route were running late.
