By IANS
Kolkata : Suspected Maoist guerrillas triggered a landmine blast on a railway track in West Bengal’s Birbhum area early Monday, minutes before a passenger train was to pass through the area.
The blast between the Bhimgarh and Pachra railway stations blew away two feet of track and created a four feet deep crater. But no one was injured in the incident that comes as the Maoists begin a 48-hour shutdown to protest the violence in Nandigram.
“The blast occurred just minutes before the Mayurakshi Fast Passenger was to pass through the area,” Eastern Railway spokesperson Samir Goswami said.
He said the incident occurred around 5.10 a.m. when the guard of a goods train reported a huge explosion on the track.
“The guard immediately contacted cabin man Mohammed Imanullah, who went to the spot and found the explosion had destroyed a two-feet track. We immediately diverted four trains and alerted the nearby railway stations,” he said.
“We have recovered Maoist posters from the track and some leaflets protesting the violence in Nandigram and asking people to participate in the 48-hour strike called by them in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa Monday,” Goswami said.
This is the third incident of Maoist attack in the state in a row. On Friday, the rebels blew up the Bhulabheda panchayat office in West Midnapore. Posters recovered from the spot stated that the attack was carried out by CPI-Maoist to take revenge for their forcible retreat from Nandigram.
The next day, around Saturday midnight, rebels attacked the Baita gram panchayat office in Lalgarh in the same district and set furniture and documents ablaze.