Centre slams Maoists for violence during bandh

The Centre on Thursday slammed the CPI (Maoist) for the violence during the October 13-14 bandh called by the outlawed organisation.

In a statement here, the Home Ministry said the Maoists indulged in wanton killing and inflicted heavy damage on private and government-owned infrastructural assets in 21 reported incidents.

The CPI (Maoist) had called for the bandh in Jharkhand, Bihar and six districts of West Bengal, to protest the alleged crackdown by security forces.

Hurting the poor

The Ministry said: “Rebuilding the damaged roads, bridge, railway property, telecom towers, block office and school building would require many months and more resources would need to be provided. Civil society must reflect on the consequences of the path of mindless violence chosen by the CPI (Maoist) and how their actions actually hurt the poor and disadvantaged sections of the people.”

In Jharkhand, 13 incidents were reported. The Maoist cadres blew up three telecom towers, set ablaze an electric generator and blew up a portion of a school building in Chatra district.

They blasted a portion of a railway track near Daniya, Dhanbad Division, leading to the derailment of 12 wagons of a goods train and damaged another goods train engine at Dhalmumgarh.

The Maoists partially blasted a road bridge near Dumri, blocked the Dumri-Giridih road by felling trees, blew up a stretch of road in Hazaribagh district and set three trucks ablaze in Giridih district.

They killed and hacked the bodies of three policemen protecting JMM ex-MP Sudam Marndi in Mayurbhanj district.

In Bihar, five incidents were reported. The Bansipur railway station was ransacked and set ablaze after six railway employees were held hostage for a few hours. A portion of the railway track near the Ghodparan station in Jamui district and a block office building in Munger district were blown up.

In West Bengal, three incidents were reported. A member of the ‘Maoist Pratirodh Committee’ was killed and another abducted, while the house of a local CPI (M) leader was ransacked and torched in Purulia district.