With the ticket counter locked and no commuters milling around, Banstala railway station wore a deserted look a day after the Rajdhani Express was held hostage there for hours by Maoist-backed agitators.

The surrounding villages of Khanakul, Hododi, Antapati, Joalbhanga and Panishola presented a different picture, although only women and children could be seen. At some spots, groups of women armed with axes and lathis blocked the entrance of the villages, fearing police raids. There was seething anger.

Nilmoni Mahato, a housewife from Antapati village who was seen brandishing an axe, expressed her anger against the police. “We were not present in yesterday’s agitation but the police raided our village. They raid our village whenever they feel like. We will not allow them to enter,” she said.

Meanwhile, the bandh called by the Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) was lifted late on Wednesday. Earlier, most parts of Jhargram and Lalgarh areas were shut. “The area is tense but under control. Today, most of the villages are deserted and we did not conduct any raid,” said Manoj Verma, Superintendent of Police, West Midnapore.

However, according to the police, suspected PCAPA members set fire to a private car at Kushboni village in Jamboni police station this evening, but no arrests were made. The Railways lodged a complaint with the Jhargram police station and GRP. It didn’t mention PCAPA or Maoists but only miscreants.

Bows and arrows on train, fire in the forests

THERE are indications that Tuesday’s Rajdhani Express hijack at Banstala near Jhargram was primarily aimed at ambushing security forces, and that even as tribals kept the train under siege, Naxalites with sophisticated weaponry were supporting them and waiting under the cover of the nearby forest. This is how it finally played out:

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