The railway tracks between Dania and Jogeshwar stations after the blast. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Oct. 13: If highways were target yesterday, Maoists blew up tracks in Dhanbad, Latehar and East Singhbhum to paralyse rail traffic on CIC section, Dhanbad division, of East Central Railway and Kharagpur division of South Eastern Railway on the second and final day of their bandh.

A school building in Chatra, two mobile towers in Gumla and Palamau and a passenger bus in Giridih were also among casualties.

The engine and eleven bogies of a goods train jumped tracks following a landmine explosion around 2pm between McCluskieganj and Mahuamilan stations in Latehar along the Barkakana-Barwadih route of Dhanbad division.

Late yesterday night, the guerrillas had damaged tracks between Dania and Jogeshwar stations in Dhanbad district, bringing rail traffic to a standstill between Chandrapura and Barkakana. The tracks were barely repaired this afternoon when news of the blast in Latehar dealt a fresh jolt to railway schedules.

Around 8.30pm, a third blast was triggered on the Tatanagar-Howrah route near Dhalbhumgarh in Ghatshila sub-division of East Singhbhum. “The blast took place near the western cabin. The up line was damaged and some trains held up for an hour,” said R.C. Bhuin, RPF inspector, Tatanagar.

The blasts prompted authorities to divert as many as eight trains through Gomoh-Gaya. At least five trains were cancelled and a few delayed. Senior public relations officer of Dhanbad division Amarendra Das said all the incidents appeared to be the handiwork of Maoists.

Before the second attack on railway tracks, rebels blew up a mobile phone tower and damaged three generators at Toto in Gumla district. Another tower was targeted at Chando in Palamau’s Chainpur block.

The onslaught spilled to Chatra, where Maoists blew up the Pandeypura government middle school. “Armed rebels snatched away keys from the principal and packed the premises with dynamites. The explosions damaged at least three classrooms,” said Chatra superintendent of police Deo Bihari Sharma.

There was no respite for GT Road — the big target on bandh Day 1 — either. Eight passengers of a bus were injured around 4.30am when Maoists hurled a bomb targeting the vehicle at Dumri in Giridih. The bus was on its way to Ajmer Sharif from Calcutta. The injured were taken to a local hospital from Barhi, 30km from Dumri.