Left terrorism strikes again: Howrah-Mumbai railway track blown up; could have caused derailments

The nation is reeling under a huge Covid crisis and the railways are acting as the main logistical partner to overcome the same by transporting liquid oxygen throughout the length and breadth of the country at a war footing while also running Covid-special trains to transport migrants back to their native places.

During such a grave time, the outlawed and banned members of the Communist Party Of India-Maoists blew up about 3 meters of railway track on the important and busy Howrah-Mumbai line of the South Eastern Railway( SER).

The terror attack took place during the wee hours of Monday between Sonua and Lotapahar stations in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, with pieces of the track found as far away as 35 meters from the blast site. This indicates that the same was done by using a high-intensity bomb/IED. This area is a known hotbed of left terrorists.

A Loco pilot of a Goods train passing through the damaged section between Lotapahar and Sonua stations alerted the authorities after experiencing a huge jerk. This led to the railways sending in a patrolling team along with security personnel from the state police and RPF to the spot.

Railway sources said that the timing of the explosion suggests that Maoists had targeted the Howrah--Pune Azad Hind Express that passes through Chakradharpur at 2 AM.

Also Geetanjali Express and Ahemdabad-Howrah special Covid-19 Express were to pass through the track just after the Azad Hind Express. Even if one of these mentioned trains had passed through the broken section of the track it would have for sure led to a huge number of casualties due to derailment.

As the team reached and discovered sabotage at the spot, at least 8 mail/express/passenger trains being were stopped immediately at different stations to prevent any untoward incident. Passengers of two express trains stopped at Rourkela were seen grappling with acute heat and humid conditions due to the delay in train services on the route.

The incident took place during a day-long Bharat Bandh called by Maoists on Monday in support of the ongoing farmers’ protests. Banners, pamphlets, and posters of Maoist organizations with anti-government messages were found at the blast site.

In the past, at the same section, eight bogies of the Tata-Bilaspur passenger train were derailed way back in 2009 by a similar kind of blast carried out by left-wing terrorists leading to 2 deaths and 55 people being injured. This modus operandi of blowing up tracks to derail a train on purpose has been an age-old tactic of the left-wing terrorists. In 2010 Jnaneswari Express was derailed by the same tactic leading to 148 innocents losing their life and 200 injured.

The railway authorities soon repaired the tracks with the help of the CRPF and state police. The bomb defusal squad along with the CRPF and RPF launched an investigation. CRPF increased its combing patrols in the nearby Lotal hills- a known hideout for these terrorists.

Manish Kumar Pathak, senior divisional commercial manager (Sr DCM), Chakradharpur division of SER issued an official statement:

Around 2.15 am Monday, the Station Manager of Sonua received information that in-between Lotapahar and Sonua stations at km 322/19-23 Loco Pilot of N BOST/KAV (Goods Train) found heavy jerk on Up line. Following this, all movement in the Rourkela-Chakradharpur section is being immediately stopped and eight mail express/passengers trains and several goods trains are controlled at different stations as a security measure. During the investigation of the site, it was found that the Up mainline track was sabotaged, and blasted rail piece flowed around 35 meters from the site. Restoration work was immediately started after getting the security clearance. The down line was given fit around 7.15 am the third line around 8.35 am. Movement over all the lines( including UP ) has resumed only at 9:35 AM.

The left-wing terrorists for long have got ideological support from intellectuals residing in upscale localities and teaching in Government-owned universities of Delhi and other state capitals. These terrorists for long have been painted as anti-establishment warriors fighting the unjust practices of the government against the tribals of India's mineral-rich East coast by the said intellectuals.

Yes, there have been instances of oppression against tribals but that does not mean blowing up railway lines with the potential of causing the deaths of innocents is a way to protest against it. This is plain and simple terrorism that can't be white-washed.

More people have been killed by left-wing terrorism than Islamic terrorism in India, with even former PM Manmohan Singh acknowledging it as the greatest ever threat to the internal security of India. Hope, the defense establishment wakes up and destroys this form of terrorism through its roots of intellectual backing before it gets too late to handle and contain.