Maoists attack train in Bihar,kill 3,injure many

The Maoists reportedly fired at the train and exploded crude bombs. They are reported to have taken away an INSAS rifle and an AK-47 from RPF personnel.

The victims have been identified as as RPF constable Sukhant Deonath from 5 Battalion,Bihar Police Sub-Inspector Kumar Amit and Mohammed Sarwar Islam from Bhagalpur. Amit was posted at Patrakar Nagar police station of Patna and was travelling in the A-1 coach.

“When the train stopped near Kunder Halt at around 1:45 pm,we thought it was because of traffic. But I saw over 50 men and women,with their faces covered,carrying arms. We bolted the doors of the coach and lay on the ground for almost an hour. We heard sounds of firing and bomb blasts,” said Pranav Kumar Choudhary,a passenger who was in the B-1 coach. According to Choudhary,passengers from other coaches were forced out of the train,and their cash and belongings were looted.

The train later left for Kiul station,where the injured were treated and the train was checked to ensure no bombs had been left behind.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh said in Delhi that the primary objective of the attack was to “loot police weapons” from the RPF personnel. Top sources said the Maoists are facing a severe shortage of arms and ammunition.

The home ministry has asked the Bihar government to send a detailed report on the attack. The CRPF,BSF and Government Railway Police personnel have been sent to the spot. Bihar DGP Abhayanand said combing operations have been launched.

The attack site is not very far from the Kajra forest,where Maoists killed eight policemen and held hostage four others for a week about three years back. The Kajra-Lakhisarai-Jamui forests is among the most active Maoist zones.