By IANS,
New Delhi : A day after a passenger was killed and 40 others were injured in a train derailment after Maoist guerrillas blew up a track in Jharkhand, the government Friday asked the civil society to condemn such “wanton acts of violence” meant to sabotage polls in the state.
Since the Jharkhand stater assembly elections were announced, the Communist Party of India (CPI)-Maoist has unleashed a reign of terror in the state by “killing innocent persons and labelling them as informers” and targeting public properties, the union home ministry said.
“They (the rebels) seem determined to carry out the threat to disrupt the polls,” a statement from the ministry said.
The five-phase state assembly polls in Jharkhand begin Nov 25.
The home ministry “thinks that civil society organisations should also play their part and condemn the wanton acts of violence and ask the CPI-Maoist not to disrupt elections”.
Three school buildings were damaged in Latehar district in separate acts of violence Nov 6 and 10, the ministry said, adding an under-construction Panchayat Bhavan was blasted in West Singhbhum Nov 15.
“The CPI-Maoist exploded a bomb on a railway track between Manoharpur and Pusaita railway stations (Thursday); two bogies were blown up and six derailed. One passenger was killed and 40 were injured,” the statement said.
It said the rebels “have also issued a call to the people to boycott the elections”.
“The government condemns these acts of violence. The Jharkhand government will continue to take pre-emptive action against the CPI-Maoist in order to maintain law and order and to facilitate free and fair elections,” it added.