Not many takers for Howrah-bound Steel Express at Tatanagar station on Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, May 23: A number of passengers cancelled their plans of travelling by Steel Express today following yesterday’s firing on the train by suspected Maoists that left two people injured.

The firing took place at Banstala, about 10km away from Jhargram in Bengal, on the Tatanagar-Kharagpur section of South Eastern Railway.

Those who cancelled their travel plans said this was the second incident of firing on the stretch in the last eight months. In October last year, the rebels held hostage the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at Banstala for nearly five hours.

Sitaramdera resident Bobby Sarkar was one of those who shelved plans to travel to Howrah by Steel Express. For Sarkar, who runs a software business, the train is a lifeline as he commutes frequently between Calcutta and Jamshedpur. But today, he could not muster the courage.

“Unless I am convinced that travelling by train to Howrah is not risky, I will keep my Calcutta plans on hold,” said Sarkar.

Ramnagar residents Sadhan Kumar Bose and his wife Debjani also cancelled their journey to Calcutta. “We were supposed to attend a family function in Calcutta. But when we heard about the incident last night on a news channel, we decided not to travel,” said Bose.

Scores of others cancelled their trip at the eleventh hour as well. “We came to know of the attack in the papers this morning. My parents just refused to let me go today,” said Saikat Das, a student who cleared the CBSE Plus Two examinations this year.

Meanwhile, senior railway police officials met today to review the situation arising out of repeated attacks on trains by the rebels in the Tatanagar-Kharagpur section. Officials expressed concern that repeated attacks would affect the morale of passengers, especially those hailing from the steel city.

Inspector-general (railway) A.K. Singh held a meeting with officials of Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force. Though it was a routine visit to Tatanagar by Singh, he reviewed the security arrangements and directed his men to step up security measures.

Railway superintendent police, Tatanagar, Jitendra Kumar Singh said they were assessing the security of railway passengers travelling on this sector.

“We are trying to see if any area between Tatanagar and Kanimohali, the last point of our jurisdiction, is vulnerable to Naxalite attack,” said the SRP.