Close on the heels of the daring attack on the Bhubaneswar- New Delhi Rajdhani Express by Maoist-backed activists near Jhargam in West Midnapore district, the Railways top brass which was closeted at a high level meeting here, resolved to revamp the security cover of these prestigious super-fast trains and intensify vigilance around tracks in strongholds of the Left-wing ultras and other rebels, additional director general(Railways) Dilip Mitra told newsmen here.
“It has been decided to enhance the security and the railways cannot compromise on the security in the aftermath of Tuesday’s incident,” Mitra said at the end of the meeting. He however, declined to reveal the details in view of operational reasons.
After the meeting at the headquarters of the Eastern Railway here, the officials proceeded to the state secretariat for attending another meeting convened by the chief secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty. Besides the general managers of the South Eastern and Eastern Railway, top police officials of the state and railways were among those present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, according to another report from Jhargram, a newly-raised armed wing of tribal agitators under the banner of Peoples Committee Against Police Atrocities(PCAPA) in cahoots with the Maoists in West Midnapore district, was believed to have carried out the hijacking on Tuesday.
According to sources here, security forces, engaged in the combing operation of the entire Antapati forest area where a gun battle with Maoists occurred on Tuesday, arrested one person who used to supply arms to the ultras. While the detained revealed some vital information during interrogation, it was learnt that the Maoists were behind the hijacking, but they did not directly participate in the action.
The Maoists were in fact providing a ‘fire cover’ when the joint forces were about to close in on the PCAPA agitators at Bansala rail station. “The aim was to ensure the PCAPA activists a safe passage,” sources said. The new outfit has been christened as ‘Sidhu-Kanu Gana Militia’.
The militia, according to sources, has been coined from fighters Sidhu Murmu and Kanu Murmu who had led the Santhal rebellion (1857-1858) against the British and were later caught and executed.
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