Maoist damage rail tracks

Ranchi, May 29: Maoist guerrillas early on Monday blew up a railway track in Bokaro district and torched vehicles in Giridih during a 24-hour shutdown they have called in Jharkhand to protest changes made in two land acts.

According to the police, the militants blasted the railway tracks between Chiyanki and Karmabandh railway stations leading to the disruption of rail movement. They also torched two vehicles in Giridih's Dumri area.

Repair on the railway tracks is going on, officials said, adding that movement of more than a dozen trains was affected.



The shutdown has impacted rural parts in the state, with buses on long routes having stopped plying.

The shutdown has been called to protest amendments to the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT) and the Santhal Pargana Tenancy Act (SPT) that in its revised version allows agriculture land to be used for non-agricultural purposes.