New Delhi: A Maoist-backed group blocked a Rajdhani train express in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district and released its driver after abducting him for hours on Tuesday.
The New Delhi-Bhubaneshwar Rajdhani is stranded at the Banstala railway station near Jhargram after being blocked by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities.
"About 300 Maoists stopped the Rajdhani Express and pulled out the driver," Dilip Mitra, a police officer, told Reuters in Kolkata.
"One policemen has been injured and we are currently engaged in a battle with the rebels," Mitra said.
Passengers on the train are safe. Maoist leader Kishenji speaking to CNN-IBN denied any role in the abduction, but he said Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee or some senior Railway official should come forward and meet the tribals.
He also said the government should release political prisoners, including Chhatradhar Mahato, the leader of the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities.
Sources tell CNN-IBN there are two VIPs on the train.
Reuters reports Maoist rebels regularly attack goods trains and have in the past even hijacked a few local passenger trains in remote districts of India before fleeing.
The Maoist rebellion began four decades ago championing the cause of poor peasants in the east, but has now spread to about 20 of India's 29 states, with the rebels targeting police and government property in hit-and-run attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has warned the rebels had managed to retain support among a cross-section of society and remain the biggest internal security threat.
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