Ranchi: The dawn-to-dusk Jharkhand bandh to protest the Chilkhadih massacre by naxals evoked a mixed response in the state but hit the movement of trains, including three Rajdhanis from Delhi.

However, no untoward incident was reported till reports last came in at noon. The bandh has been called by Jharkhand Vikas Manch (Dem), whose president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi lost his son Anup in the massacre, which claimed 17 other lives. Official reports said that the bandh was total in Simdega Gumla and Giridh, where the massacre took place, but evoked mixed response in Dumka, Pakur and Latehar districts.

The worst hit was the train service in Dhanbad railway division and transport services on the Grand Trunk Road. Three Rajdhani Expresses -- Delhi-Howrah, Delhi-Sealdah and Delhi-Bhubaneswar -- were held up for four hours in various places in Dhanbad and Giridih districts as bandh supporters squatted on railway tracks, a senior official of Dhanbad railway division, said.

The Howrah-Jodhpur Express and Dhanbad-Gaya Intercity Express were also held up, he added. Buses and trucks remained off road in most parts of the state due to the bandh, which is being supported by the CPI-M. Bandh supporters jammed the G T Road at Nirsa, Chirkunda and Barvadih in Dhanbad, the reports said. In Ranchi, bandh supporters belonging mostly to JVM-D, hit the streets to enforce it. Police detained 54 supporters in Garwah and one person was taken into custody from Barvadih.

Source : PTI