Trains stranded as rail employees block tracks

Traffic was paralysed for a few hours on the Barwidh-Palamau section of the Central India Chord CIC on Saturday as Railway employees blockaded the tracks at Barwidh station in protest against the kidnapping of four Railway personnel by Naxalites on Wednesday night. A dozen trains, including the New Delhi-bound Hatia -Jammu Tavi Express, Daltongunj-bound Palamau Express and Benaras-bound Inter City Express remained stranded for more than five hours between 11am and 4 pm.

The railway staff withdrew their agitation and the traffic was restored after the intervention of the Police, Divisional Railway Manager A K Gupta told The Indian Express. The blockade was jointly enforced by the unions of employees and guards in protest against the kidnapping of three Assistant Station Masters -Kamal Kishore,S D Ekka and S K Kesri- and one guard- Munshi Prasad-belonging to the McCluskieganj station-by the armed cadres of the Jharkhand Prastuti CommitteeJPC,a breakaway faction of the CPIMaoist on Wednesday night.

These unions have demanded release of their colleagues and adequate safety provisions. 8220;Several of our colleagues work in remote areas. We want adequate security and release of our colleagues immediately,8221; said J N Tiwari, secretary of the Baradih-based Railway Employee8217;s Union.

The JPC militants who had claimed responsibility for the crime had demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh but the Police which claimed to have traced the kidnappers denied any knowledge of the demand. 8220;We don8217;t know if they had demanded any ransom. But we have come to learn that railway personnel who had got the grand hike as per the Sixth Pay Revision Commission, were to get arrears of Rs one-two lakh each.