Policemen keep vigil on National Highway 33. Picture by Uma Shankar Dubey

Aug. 25: Extremists torched a goods train engine at Latehar and gutted half-a-dozen heavy vehicles in Koderma valley. Train movement on the busy Koderma-Dhanbad section was disrupted when extremists damaged the signalling and communication system at Gurpa railway station between Dhanbad and Koderma.

Barring rail traffic disruption, the 24-hour bandh call issued jointly by the People’s War and MCC in four states — Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa and Jharkhand — passed off peacefully in the state, said director-general of police R.R. Prasad.

A large posse of extremists attacked Mangra station soon after the bandh was enforced last night. The extremists first snapped the telephone lines and then set an electric engine on fire at about 12.40 am.

Three passengers trains had to be cancelled while the express trains were diverted, railway officials said. Extremists also uprooted 16 pan droll clips from the tracks near Daltonganj, officials said.

Although the bandh did not have any impact on the urban areas in East Singhbhum, life was paralysed in the rural areas of the district. Buses and public vehicles did not ply to and from Dumuria in Ghatshila subdivision. Even shops remained closed.

Police claimed that a group of People’s War activists tried to enter Kasiabera village in Dumuria late last night. But the alert villagers chased them away. The rebels fired about three rounds in the air.

The National Highway 33 wore a deserted look. Although adequate police personnel were deployed, few buses and trucks were seen on the road.

However, movement of trains in the Chakradharpur division was not affected. In Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum, the bandh evoked a good response. Roads were deserted though schools and colleges remained open.

In Giridih, traffic was thin on the GT Road, but the trains were packed to capacity.come to the town.