Maoists blast track in railway minister's constituency

PATNA: Maoist rebels blew up a railway track in Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's constituency of Chapra in Bihar's Saran district on Wednesday to enforce a shutdown to protest action against them by security forces, police said.

The rebels blew up a railway track near the Badagopal-Avtarnagar railway station in the Chapra-Sonepur section of East Central Railway (ECR), about 100 km from here.

Rail traffic was disrupted and repair work would be delayed due to heavy rain, a railway official said.

The Maoists had called for a day-long shutdown in Bihar and Jharkhand to protest police action against them.

In view of the shutdown, ECR had already cancelled some trains and diverted others, officials said.