JOIN USAmid speculation that acts of sabotage were behind the derailing of two trains in Bihar on Wednesday, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) claimed that it had alerted the East Central Railway and district administrations on possible Maoist attacks in the Tirhut and Saran regions of the state.
After receiveing intelligence, the RPF reportedly asked vulnerable states to take adequate security measures after it received intelligence.
On the condition of anonymity, an RPF official said that an intelligence advisory was issued to the concerned authorities on June 20 to take preventive measures in the wake of a Maoist bandh call.
Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Chapra and Hazipur are among the areas which comprise the Tirhut and Saran regions in Bihar.
It was in and around Chapra that two separate incidents of derailment – the Dibrugrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and a goods train – took place. The Railways suspect it to be the handiwork of Maoists.
“Prima facie, it appears to be a case of sabotage. There was a blast on the track, which could have caused the derailment,” Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar told reporters here.
“Another goods train, 60 km away from the station, also got derailed due to a blast. Eighteen wagons got derailed in the accident,” Kumar said.