Maoists storm toll plaza in Bihar; kill two, loot weapons

Hours after targeting the prestigious Rajdhani Express, armed Maoists stormed a government toll plaza in Bihar’s Gaya district, killing two persons and looting weapons, a top officer said on Wednesday.

Over 200 heavily-armed naxals attacked the toll plaza at Mahapur last night by spraying bullets and hurling bombs, and gunned down a private security guard identified as Wakil Singh, DIG (Magadh range) Anupama Nilekar said.

They also shot dead a truck driver identified as Krishna Kant and injured some personnel in charge of security at the toll plaza, the officer said.

The naxalites looted 16 weapons, including one rifle, 12 double-barrel guns and three regular guns, besides over 100 rounds of ammunition, from the security guards of the private Magadh Security Force.

The ultras looted cash worth around Rs. 3 lakhs. They then blew up the office of the toll plaza using dynamites before leaving the spot, the DIG said.

Earlier, the Maoists targeted the Bhubaneswar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express on late Monday night by blasting a rail line in the district in which hundreds of passengers had a miraculous escape after ten coaches derailed.