Maoists torch 32 vehicles on GT Road in Bihar

Heavily armed Maoists torched 32 vehicles, including tankers and containers, on the Grand Trunk Road in Gaya district on the first day of the two-day Bihar and Jharkhand bandh called by the extremists against the killing of their woman leader.

However, nobody was injured in the attack that took place on the route that connects Kolkata to New Delhi in the wee hours on Monday and traffic has been restored. A group of over 50 Maoists set ablaze 32 vehicles on the GT Road near Bishunpur and Taradih villages, Patna Zonal Inspector General Kundan Krishnan said.

Among the vehicles were four tankers filled with LPG and one with diesel. The Maoists torched the cabins of the drivers of these tankers, but the fire did not spread to the tanks, he said. The attackers allowed a family to move to safety before torching their car, he said.

The Maoists have called the bandh to protest the killing of their Bihar Jharkhand Chhattisgarh Special Area Committee member Sarita alias Urmila Ganjoo in an encounter with CRPF on May 16.

The IG said police teams and Gaya SSP and DIG reached the spot and the burnt vehicles had been removed. Krishnan also said that special operations to check Maoist activities in the area would be considered in the wake of the two-day bandh in the Left wing extremism affected areas.

In another incident, armed Maoists destroyed a mobile tower at Panapur in Saran district of the state.