In a series of explosive attacks that took place barely 12 hours apart in eastern Bihar on Friday, Maoist guerillas blew up a portion of the block development officer’s building at Lakshmipur in Jamui district and exploded bombs twice along railway tracks, apparently undeterred by the strong presence of armed security personnel in the area.

The Maoists first targeted the track between Narganjo and Ghorparan stations under Eastern Railway around 1 am and, just after it was repaired, attacked it again at 11 am.

Insurgents also exploded a bomb on railway tracks near Ghoghi-Bariarpur village on Jamalpur-Kiul section in Munger district. Though train services were disrupted, no casualties are reported.

The attacks took place during a 24-hour bandh called by the outlawed CPI(Maoist) in the ‘Jamui Banka zone’-comprising Jamui, Munger, Bhagalpur, Lakhisarai and Banka-to protest the alleged custodial torture of its ‘area commander’ Kamlesh alias Deepak, who was arrested on July 6.

Friday’s events, of course, are certainly not the first of their kind in the state, with Maoists blowing up rail tracks, police pickets and government buildings at regular intervals here, especially since the formation of Jharkhand in 2000.

In fact, 31 of 38 Bihar districts are Naxal-infested and 19 of them, including Patna, Jamui, Munger and Bhagalpur, are under the very sensitive “A” category.

Also a matter of great concern is that the CPI(M) has, of late, started using highly sophisticated weapons in major attacks, and according to police figures, at least 2,000 trained and armed ultras — supported by large cadres right down to the village level — terrorise the region. Their use of explosives in attacking police stations and government offices (see box) over the past couple of years also enables them to carry out multiple attacks in short bursts that do not give the police enough time to respond effectively.

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