Danapur express passengers held hostage , Maoists abduct a railway gateman ,Special forces free train in Howrah

August 4, 2017 | Published by : Avinash Nandakumar

HOWRAH,August4: Passengers of Howrah-bound Danapur Express had a harrowing time as they were stuck for almost seven hours – from 12.30am to 7.10am on Thursday – at Manpur station after Maoists abducted a railway gateman between Jamui and Bhalui stations in the Danapur section of Eastern Railway (ER) around midnight on Wednesday. The abducted employee was identified as Moni Mondal.

Special forces freed the train early on Thursday morning. The Maoists also blew up a telecom tower in the area.

“The AC and fans of our compartment were switched off, leaving us sweating at Manpur station, where the train was stopped. Water supply too was snapped. We first spotted some 10 to 12 CRPF jawans around 2.30am,” said Amrit Singh, who reached Howrah around 2.35pm on Thursday.

Among some of the long distance trains, which were later held up, were the Punjab Mail, Mithila Express, Bibhuti Express, Anand Bihar Express, Amritsar Mail and Haridwar Express.

A railway official said, “Immediately after the abduction and threats by Maoists, we sent instructions to several trains plying along the Danapur section to stop at different stations like Jamtala, Giridi and Jhajha.”

Tags: #Danapurexpress, #freetrain, #gateman, #Howrah, #Maoists, #special