Armed Maoists today hijacked a passenger train on the West Bengal-Jharkhand border and threatened to blow it up but later abandoned it and made off with two rifles and a walkie-talkie.

South-Eastern Railway officials said the Tata-Kharagpur train was taken over at 10.25 am near a deep forest between Gidni and Chakulia stations in Jharkhand by a group of 25 to 30 Maoists. The rebels, who boarded the train as passengers, detained it and threatened to blow it up. They fled after holding the train for nearly two hours when security forces were rushed from Jamshedpur, said East Singhbhum’s Deputy Superintendent of Police S P Burnwal.

The Maoists snatched two rifles from two RPF personnel escorting the train and a walkie-talkie from the driver, he said. Railway authorities, however, could not immediately confirm reports that the Maoists had looted cash amounting to Rs 1 lakh. The two RPF personnel — a constable and a head constable — were injured and admitted to a railway hospital, sources said.

Kharagpur’s Divisional Railway Manager Ranjan Tiwary said the train resumed its journey at 2.25 pm after a four-hour delay. All the passengers were safe, he said. The tracks were thoroughly searched for bombs possibly planted by Maoists before the train was allowed to resume its journey, officials said.

Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda said it was not yet clear the men were Naxalites, but he did not rule out the possibility that the rebels were involved. “It is not yet clear that they are Naxals because they did not leave any note or leaflet as they usually do. But the way this incident happened, it also cannot be said that they were not Naxals,” he said, adding the men had headed for the West Bengal border after leaving the train.

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