By IANS,
Ranchi : Stating that they were being used to impart anti-Maoist education, Maoist guerrillas Tuesday blew up two school buildings in Jharkhand’s Giridih district.
Two schools in Haridih and Dharpahari villages of Giridih district, about 270 km from here, were blasted early Tuesday using explosives and detonators.
Police officials said the Maoist guerrillas left behind pamphlets saying that schools were being used to impart anti-Maoist propaganda; security forces also used them for operations against the Maoists, the pamphlets added.
In Jharkhand, more than 30 school buildings have been blasted in the last eight years.
The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has called a 24-hour strike in six of Jharkhand’s 24 districts and demanded the release of their leader Ashok Mahto, a member of the group’s South Chhotanagpur Zonal Committee.
CPI-Maoist said in a press release that Mahto had been arrested Oct 23 from Kamdera village on the outskirts of Ranchi. It has demanded that he be produced before media or in the court.
However, police in Ranchi deny that Mahto has been arrested.
Police officials say the blasting of the two school buildings was not linked to the strike as Giridih is not included in the six districts.