Naxalites hold lineman hostage in Uttar Pradesh, remove fish plates

Over 40 armed Naxalites held a lineman hostage and removed fish plates and sleeper clips from a railway track in the Maoist-hit district just before the Triveni Express was to arrive, police said today.

While the Naxalites were tampering with the railway track at about 10.15pm last night, the Singrauli-Bareilly Triveni Express was standing at Agauri railway station, just three kms away.

The Maoists held the lineman, Kharpattu, hostage and removed four fish plates and 42 sleeper clips near Ghagra bridge.

They fled from the scene after releasing Kharpattu, who immediately asked railway authorities to stop the train to avert a major accident, they said.

Senior police officers, including superintendent of police Pritender Singh, rushed to the spot.

Due to the incident, movement on the track was affected for over eight hours.