Aug. 25: On the second day of their 48-hour bandh, Maoists struck in Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar today blowing up a railway station and community centre besides engaging security forces in an encounter after burning four trucks on NH-33 between Ranchi and Jamshedpur.

The bandh, called in five states — including Chhattisgarh and Bengal — to protest against the arrest of two of their key leaders, was on the verge of being extended indefinitely by the Maoist leadership, demanding the duo be presented in court.

But, the rebels called off the bandh, after the police announced in Ranchi that two Maoist leaders Amitabh Bagchi, alias Anil, and Tauhid Mulla, had been produced in court and were now on police remand.

In Jharkhand, armed rebels blew up another mobile phone tower, torched five supply trucks — four on the arterial NH33 — and injured four persons in Latehar, Ranchi and Khunti districts.

Around 2am, a squad of some 30 rebels planted a bomb at the base of an Airtel tower at Lali village in the Manika area of Latehar district around 10 am.

Almost around the same time, a second armed Maoist squad torched a truck at Manjhidih village between Tamar and Khunti, 70km from the Jharkhand capital.

Just around midnight yesterday, rebels had set fire to four ration trucks at Taimara valley on NH-33, 30km from Ranchi. The SSP, Ranchi, Praveen Kumar, said the trucks were attacked by a Maoist squad that included women.

An anti-landmine vehicle carrying 10 jawans of the district armed police then reached the spot from Bundu. The extremists opened fire injuring driver Satish Kumar Ohdar. Constable Sukra Oroan returned fire, but was also injured in the shootout.

In Orissa, around 35 armed Maoists flattened Roxy railway station and torched 15 vehicles parked there in the K Bolang police station area in Sundergarh district around 2am last night.

The rebels first asked railwaymen to move out, but then took three of them hostage, including the station master, before setting off the explosives that destroyed the station, around 80km from Rourkela. The three were released later.

In Bihar, around 100 rebels raided Irki village and blew up a community centre with dynamite in Aurangabad district, according to ADG (HQ) Neelmani.

Most private bus operators suspended services from Patna to Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Daltonganj and Bokaro with police patrolling national highways, he added.

Gaya station

A group of Maoists vandalised Ismailpur railway station and held station manager Mayur Kumar hostage for two hours around 7.15 pm today. A ticket counter and signalling systems at the station were damaged, delaying several trains on the Grand Chord section.