Patna: Track terror struck Bihar a little before dawn on Tuesday when armed robbers stabbed to death a Madhepura labourer returning home from Punjab at Kathpul, a stretch between Patna Junction and Rajendra Nagar Terminus notorious for train dacoits.

An hour or so after the incident, the Government Railway Police recovered the unidentified body of a 30-year old youth from a coach of the Patna-Gaya passenger which was stranded near Kathpul.

Railway police said that prima facie it appears that the same criminal gang was involved in both the incidents as the injury marks on the two dead persons were similar.

Rudal Yadav, 35, who died of stab wounds, and his friend Rambhu, 26, labourers in Ludhiana in Punjab, had reached Patna Junction by the Amritsar-Howrah Express around 4.30am. Narrating their ordeal, Rambhu said: "From Patna Junction we were going to Rajendra Nagar to board the Patna-Saharsa Express for our village Chatti in Madhepura district."

As Rajendra Nagar Terminus is around 2.5km from Patna Junction, they decided to walk along the tracks. At a spot near Kathpul, which is around 700 metres from Patna Junction, they spotted four youths sitting on the tracks.

Rambhu said: "We thought they were passengers waiting for a train, but when we got closer, they attacked us. Three other persons who were hiding inside a train stranded on the railway tracks too jumped down and attacked us."

Rambhu said the gang of seven demanded cash and other belongings. "As the criminals were armed with knives and iron rods, we handed over Rs 22,000 that we had, but the miscreants started assaulting us. Rudal and I resisted and started running towards Rajendra Nagar. But Rudal fell on the tracks. The criminals stabbed Rudal in his chest and neck."

The criminals then fled towards Lohanipur, crossing the railway tracks. Rudal is survived by his wife and a daughter and was returning to his village after three months.

An hour after Rudal's death, the railway police recovered the unidentified body of a man, aged about 30, with multiple stab injuries from below the berth of a ladies coach of the Patna-Gaya passenger train.

Superintendent of railway police, Patna, Ashok Kumar Singh said: "The stab marks on both the bodies are of similar nature, indicating that the same gang was involved. We have detained four youths and prima facie it appears that local criminals were behind the incidents."