By IANS
Ranchi : Roads here wore a deserted look as the dawn to dusk strike called by the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Democratic (JVM-D) Sunday, to protest the killing of 18 civilians by the Maoist rebels, brought the state to a grinding halt.
JVM-D is headed by former chief minister Babulal Marandi, whose son was among those killed in the attack. The incident took place in Chilkhari village of Giridih district early Saturday.
The JVM-D workers here hit the streets in the morning and forced the shops to down their shutters.
The strike crippled railway and bus services in the state. More than a dozen trains were stranded for hours at different places in the state.
The railway services were disrupted in Ranchi, Jamshepur, Giridih, Dhanbad and other districts. The long route buses were also off the roads.
More than 700 supporters of JVM-D were arrested from different parts of the state.
“No untoward incident has been reported from any part of the state. The strike has been peaceful. In some areas the strike got good response,” said R.K Mallik spokesperson for Jharkhand police.