- Title: INDIA: Maoists hijack a passenger train in eastern India's Jharkhand region
- Date: 23rd April 2009
- Summary: HEHEGARHA, INDIA (APRIL 22, 2009) (ANI) (QUALITY AS INCOMING) TRAIN ARRIVING ON PLATFORM DESTINATION NAME OF THE TRAIN TRAIN MOVING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) ASHOK KUL, STATION MASTER, HEHEGARHA RAILWAY STATION, SAYING: "Everybody was in civil dress so we couldn't make out who they were. But they said that due to the Barhania incident a shutdown had been ordered and until the government paid compensation the shutdown would remain." EXTERIOR OF STATION OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) ABHAY, ZONAL COMMANDER, MAOIST COMMUNIST CENTRE OF INDIA (MCCI), SAYING: "If the government doesn't fulfil our demands then we will call for an indefinite shutdown here, and the public here will become agitated and protest against the police who take law in their own hands and beat innocent people." RAILWAY TRACK
- Embargoed: 9th May 2009 15:43
- Keywords:
- Location: India
- Country: India
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
- Reuters ID: LVAD7Z105PT8HQLGWG9RAPLBG4AS
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Indian Maoist rebels hijacked a train with around 500 passengers in the eastern state of Jharkhand on Wednesday (April 22) a day before the second stage of India's general elections to the Lok Sabha (lower house of Indian parliament), police said.
About 200 Maoists boarded a passenger train and forced the driver to take it to Latehar station in an area known to be a rebel stronghold.
The hijackers freed all the passengers at Hehegarha railway station.
Station master Ashok Kul told reporters that suspected Maoists had demanded compensation for five villagers killed in clashes with police. The villagers were killed by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in an encounter on April 15, the day before the first phase of the country's general election. This followed a landmine blast carried out by Maoists in Barhania valley in the Latehar district of the state.
"Everybody was in civil dress so we couldn't make out who they were. But they said that due to the Barhania incident a shutdown had been ordered and until the government paid compensation the shutdown would remain," said Kul.
CRPF personnel said the dead villagers were Maoists but locals insist they were innocent.
Abhay, a zonal commander of the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), said that the rail network would continue to be targeted if the government refuses to pay compensation to families of those killed by the CRPF.
Indian Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of landless labourers and poor farmers, have stepped up attacks in their strongholds in central and eastern India.
They have taken over trains on a number of occasions in recent years, holding them up for several hours before leaving. Passengers are usually unharmed.
Maoist rebel violence marred the first stage of India's election last Thursday (April 16) when five election officials were killed in a landmine blast in Chhattisgarh state. Eleven police were killed across the central and eastern 'Red Belt'.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Maoist violence as India's biggest internal security threat. Some 500 civilians and police were killed in insurgent clashes last year.
India is holding a staggered general election over April and May in which 714 million people will cast their vote to elect a new federal government. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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