Maoists blow up another mobile tower in Jharkhand

Maoists today blew up a mobile tower in Latehar district on the second day of their 48-hour bandh in five states, including Jharkhand.

The banned activists of the CPI(Maoists) went to Lali village in the wee hours, packed explosives inside the tower and triggered the blast, police said.

This is the third mobile tower to be blown up by the Maoists in two days. Yesterday, they bombed and destroyed two towers in neighbouring Palamau district.

The outfit has called for the bandh in Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, to demand production of two of their arrested senior leaders before a court. Police have not confirmed the arrest.
     
While Orissa, West Bengal and Chhatisgarh were to be exempted from the purview of the shutdown today, the bandh would continue in Bihar and Jharkhand indefinitely till the rebel leaders were produced in court, a top Maoist leader said yesterday.

Another group of Maoists set afire four trucks near Taimara Ghati, about 50 kms from here, for defying the bandh.
   
The ultras stopped the trucks plying on the route one-by-one and set them ablaze, deputy inspector general of police (South Chhotanagpur Ranchi), RK Mullick said.