Naxals ambush running train in Bihar, kill 3 policemen

Three policemen were shot dead and two injured by armed Maoists in a running train near Jamalpur railway station in Bihar's Munger district on Saturday evening.

A group of 8 to 10 Maoists, who were travelling in Sahebganj-Patna Inter-City Express, opened fire in a ladies compartment.

The train was between a railway tunnel and the bridge at Ashikpur, barely 900 yards away from Jamalpur railway station at the time of the incident, Railway Superintendent of Police Amitabh Kumar Das said.

The Naxal attack left three escorting members of Bihar Military Police dead and two others injured, Das said.

The Maoists looted three INSAS rifles, a sten gun and an AK-47, besides 460 rounds of ammunition.

The personnel were from the BMP-12 unit at Bhagalpur, Das said.

The Maoists escaped from the train at Passikhana after pulling the chain, where another group of Maoists was waiting beside the tracks, he said.

The three dead BMP personnel were Hawaldar Ashok Kumar, Constable Bhola Thakur and Constable Uday Singh. The injured were Mohammed Imtiyaz and Vinay Kumar, Das said.

Injured policemen Mohammed Imtiyaz told PTI in Jamalpur that eight to ten Maoists were on the train.

When the train slowed down after the chain was pulled, the group of Maoists waiting beside the tracks stabbed him and another BMP man. They snatched away the BMP personnel’s weapon and fired from them, Imtiyaz said.

Munger Range Deputy Inspector General Sudhanshu Kumar has gone to the spot with security forces and launched a search operation.

The bodies of the slain BMP personnel were taken out of the train when it reached Jamalpur. The injured policemen have been hospitalised.

The ladies coach where the Maoist attack took place has been detached from the train.