PTI

Ranchi, Mar 14: Naxalites stormed a passenger train between Kummandi and Hedegada in Jharkhand and gained complete control of the train, taking all passengers hostage.

(Early Tuesday morning reports said the police have since released the train from the captors' control.)

"We are unable to establish any contact with the train crew. Guards of a goods train that crossed the said train have also said that there was no signal from the passenger train. Usually when two trains pass each other, the respective guards flash a signal to indicate all is fine. It looks like the Naxals have snatched the walkie-talkies of the guards," said Central Railway Public Information Officer A K Chandra.

"The Railways has become a soft target in this region [Jharkhand and Bihar]. There have been at least a dozen Naxal attacks on railway installations in the past year," Chandra said.

The railway officials said they will wait till dawn to launch any rescue operation.

"The area where they have stopped the train is surrounded by hills and has a very thick forest cover. Moreover, being Holi-eve, the train has more passengers than usual. So we are not ready to risk anything," said a senior official.

He said the number of passengers held hostage may be anywhere between 200 and 400.

Sources said the Railway police personnel on duty did not board the train.

All trains on the route have either been halted or diverted.

PTI adds:

Inspector General of Police G C Verma said the Naxalites took over the train around 1930 hours.

He said it might be in retaliation to the killing of one of their comrades in a police encounter on March 3.

The incident took place in the midst of a bandh called by the Naxalites in Latehar district, he said.

Superintendent of Police of Latehar Subodh Prasad, along with a team of policemen, was headed site, which is about 100km from Ranchi.

Central Reserve Police Force commandant of the area P K Sharma said he is ready with his forces to go to the site but was waiting for the local police to guide them.