Militant Rebels Blow up Railway Tracks

By Michael E. Sanchez
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BIHAR, India- During a 48-hour strike Maoist rebels in India blew up sections of railway tracks in four eastern states.  These attacks have left two people dead.

Maoists began the strike on Monday in six states as a protest against a major offensive being executed by government troops.  The attack in Bihar state came during a two-day strike.  The rebels demanded that people stay home to join their protest against the government action aimed at flushing militant from their forest hide-outs.  One section of track destruction in Bihar caused an express train to derail, but no casualties were reported.

The Maoist rebels desire communist rule in large areas of India.  More than 6,000 have died in this 20 year-fight.  The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the rural poor who complain they have been neglected by the government for decades.

Manmohan Singh, the Indian Prime Minister described the Maoists as the biggest threat to India’s internal security, and ordered a major offensive in November.

The major offensive, called Operation Green Hunt consists of nearly 50,000 federal paramilitary troops and an equal number of policemen, equipped with helicopters and unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles.

On Tuesday, law enforcement blamed the destruction of a 1.2m(4ft) section of railway tracks on the Maoist rebels.  This caused seven coaches and the engine of an express train to derail.  This occurred 15km from the town of Gaya, while the train was en route from the city of Bhubaneswar to the capital, officials said.  Samir Goswami, a railway spokesman said the rebels blew up tracks in three other places in Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa, leading to the cancellation of several services.

The government has proposed talks with the rebels, but only if they refrain from violence and place no preconditions.  On the other hand, the rebels demand that the government stop their offensive before they agree to talks.

In West Bengal, rebels were blamed for killing Hemant Pradhan, a school headmaster, who was said to be a supporter of the ruling Communist Party of India.  Police state that he was dragged from this home and shot dead.

For more information, please see:
Gulf Times- Maoists Blow Up Rail Track, Bridge– 22 March 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive