Rajdhani Express secured from Maoists; driver, assistant freed: Govt

KOLKATA: Home secretay on Tuesday evening stated that the driver of the New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express and his assistant, kidnapped by Maoists between Jhargram and Sarna stations of the South Eastern Railway this afternoon, have been released.

���Rajdhani Express has been secured from the Maoists. The drivers too are safe,��� home secretary G K Pillai informed media.

Pro-Maoists group PCPA had claimed responsibility for the attack stating that the train drivers had defied the bandh call.

TV reports had also suggested that PCPA had set the conditions for releasing the Rajdhani drivers. The pro-Maoist group sought the release of their leader Chhatradhar Mahato from the police custody, in a swap deal.

Union home ministry had asked central forces to rush to the spot in West Midnapur district in West Bengal from where two drivers of New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express were kidnapped.

The ministry has also sought a report on the incident from the state government as well as the railway ministry, sources said.