Maoists blow up tracks on Howrah-Mumbai route

Suspected Maoists blew away a portion of railway tracks in the wee hours of Monday near Rourkela in Orissa causing derailment of a goods train and disruption of train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route.

A portion of the railway track at a place between Bhalulata and Jareikela, about 30 km from Rourkela, was blown up by suspected Maoists at 1 am leading to derailment of two wagons of a goods train, Rourkela railway station manager S K Panda said.

However, there have been no reports of injury or casualty in the incident.

Following the blast, all trains on the Howrah-Mumbai route have been held up at different stations, Panda said, adding that explosives might also have been planted on the up-line of the route.

Maoists had called a 72-hour bandh in Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh on Sunday to protest against a proposed all-out offensive 'Operation Green Hunt' against them by the Centre.