Railway tracks damaged in Chhattisgarh ahead of President Ram Nath Kovind's two-day visit; Naxal insurgents suspected

Raipur: It is suspected that Naxals on Wednesday damaged railway tracks on the Visakhapatnam-Kirandul route in Dantewada district, disrupting the movement of trains, police said, on a day President Ram Nath Kovind arrived in Chhattisgarh for a two-day visit. The railway administration has undertaken the track restoration work. [caption id=“attachment_4822631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of President Ram Nath Kovind. PTI[/caption] There was no disruption in the president’s itinerary and he attended several functions during the day in the state. “The damage was detected in the track this evening under Bhansi police station limits following which Visakhapatnam-Kirandul passenger train, that had crossed Dantewada for Kirandul, had to be brought back to Dantewada,” state’s Deputy Inspector General (anti-naxal operations) Sundarraj P said. The railway’s ground staff spotted that few fishplates of the track were removed, following which they immediately informed their senior officials, who then conveyed it to police. Prima facie it seems the Naxals have committed the offence in view of their ‘Martyrs Week’ to be observed by them between 28 July and 3 August. After getting information of the incident, teams of police personnel, as well as railway officials, have reached the spot and the railway administration has launched the track restoration work, he said. However, since the spot is located inside the forest area, it will take some time to for restoration work.