Naxals on Tuesday night attacked the Masudan railway station in Bihar and torched the station property. According to ANI, the Naxals have also abducted two railway officials, including the Assistant Station Master (ASM).
Around 15 Naxals, including women, attacked Masudan railway station at around 2 am, said Kripasagar, SHO of GRP police station at Jamalpur. They caught hold of ASM Mukesh Kumar and porter Nirendra Mandal and took them away. The left wing extremists also set ablaze the signalling panel and threw official papers into the fire, the SHO said. He said railway traffic was disrupted on Jamalpur-Kiul section for about an hour due to torching of the signalling panel. Movement of trains was restored after the fire was extinguished.
As per ANI, the assistant station master, who has been abducted, called up Maldah DRM saying Naxals have threatened to kill them if trains continue plying on Masudan track. As of now, no casualties have been reported.
The attack comes on a day when Naxals had called for a 24-hour bandh across Bihar and neighbouring Jharkhand in protest against operations against them.
This is not the first time that such an incident has happened in the state. Earlier this year, a group of 20 Naxals had allegedly hijacked a train in Lakhisarai district of the state on August 3. Naxalites had then disrupted rail services on two lines after kidnapping two cabin men in the district as part of their week-long protest marked as ‘Shahadat Saptah’.