Silchar May 7: The militant Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel Gorlosa) today adopted a new tactic of targeting trains in Assam’s North Cachar Hills district by removing fish plates from tracks to derail a goods train.
The incident took place between Diaojabra and Langting railway stations around 7.30am. The train was on its way to Badarpur from Lumding.
Initial reports had indicated that there were two “blasts on the tracks followed by firing by militants”.
The deputy commander-in-chief of the DHD (J), Daniel Dimasa, called up newspersons claiming responsibility for the sabotage.
Ten wagons of the train derailed and a security personnel and a few railway staff received minor injuries as a result of the subversion.
A medical van was immediately sent to the site for preliminary treatment of the injured, the railway’s area officer in Badarpur, Debashish Dhar Choudhury, said.
Earlier in the day, Dhar Choudhury had said the impact of the blasts was so strong that it had set off a “convulsion” on the train, resulting in the derailment of at least 10 wagons.
Later in the evening, he said preliminary information had spoken of bomb blasts on the track. But this was subsequently negated by investigations that found some fish plates removed.
He said the initial confusion was created because of the huge sound caused by the derailment that gave the impression of bomb blasts.
Police officials in the district said jittery security personnel travelling on the train opened fire after the accident thinking there had been blasts, which added to the confusion.
Goods trains were run for the first time on the Lumding-Badarpur route on Tuesday since April 11 when services were suspended following at least six militant attacks on trains. This time, the trains have been turned into virtual fortresses with bunkers and security personnel carrying sophisticated weapons, including grenade launchers.
The disruption of goods train movement in North Cachar Hills has been affecting supplies of essential commodities to south Assam, Tripura and Mizoram.
The journey of two goods trains, on their way from Badarpur to Lumding, were terminated at Harangajao and Bagetar railway stations respectively till further instructions. NF Railway is trying to reopen the hill section metre gauge line tonight, railway sources said.
Intelligence sources said the spate of attacks by the DHD (J) was aimed at forcing both the Union and the state governments to discuss the outfit’s demand for a Dimaraji state.
According to sources, desertions in the outfit’s rank and file has set its upper echelons thinking that the authorities should somehow be browbeaten to agree to have peace parleys with it.
The spanner in the outfit’s wheel is the government’s condition that it should first give up arms before any peace dialogue is undertaken.