Jawans stand guard at McCluskieganj station. Telegraph picture

Ranchi, Oct. 19: Police today claimed to have made headway in the McCluskieganj abduction case. They ruled out Maoist hand in the kidnap and said the rescue of the railway officials was only a matter of time.

Despite such a claim, protests by railway employees paralysed train services on the CIC section of Dhanbad division of East Central Railway. While the Sealdah-Rajdhani Express was held up for nearly an hour, several other trains like the Jammu-Tawi Express and Palamau Express had to be diverted.

State police spokesperson S.N. Pradhan said they had a lead on where the four abducted railway employees — assistant station manager Kamal Kishore, deputy station managers S.D. Ekka and S.K. Kujur, and guard Munshi Prasad — might have been confined. Deputy inspector-general (railways) Sido Hembrom confirmed this.

“We have zeroed in on three places where they may have been kept. We are combing these areas to rescue them,” a police officer, part of the search team, told The Telegraph.

Senior police officers, requesting anonymity, said that the kidnap was not the handiwork of the Jharkhand Prastuti Committee (JPC), a breakaway faction of Maoists. “A local criminal gang is involved. We have traced cellphone calls for ransom to the victims’ family members,” one of them said.

Police said the railway employees had received arrears after the central government implemented the Sixth Pay Commission report. “The ransom demanded was not hefty — something around Rs 1 lakh for each person,” an officer said. Ruling out Maoist role in the abduction, he said rebel groups usually commits such crimes to gain publicity.

“But, in this case, the kidnappers did not leave any pamphlet or note claiming their responsibility.”

Meanwhile, with the administration failing to meet its 24-hour deadline, which expired at 6pm today, members of the East Central Railway Karmchari Union (ECRKU) launched protests. Train services were hit on the entire CIC section. The Sealdah-Rajdhani Express was also held up for 50 minutes on the Grand Chord route. Several goods and passenger trains were cancelled or diverted.

Md Zeyauddin, branch secretary of ECRKU, said the union’s representatives held a meeting with senior railway officials late in the evening and decided to defer the strike. Senior railway officials who attended the meeting included divisional railway manager A.K. Gupta and chief personnel officer J.S.P. Singh. Dhanbad division spokesperson Sameer Kumar said railway traffic had become normal.

Railway minister Lalu Prasad has, meanwhile, directed Shibu Soren to ensure the safe release of the abducted employees.